Wht is this on TATA 's website.. I am confused..

HI.. I saw the following on Tata's website..  see the highlighted words..

Tata Engineering was the first company to introduce a sports-utility vehicle (SUV) in India. The Safari, debuted in 1988 and since then has bowled people over with its design and looks— the vehicle had a certain class which competitors found difficult to match. Niggling problems, however, plagued the product, but in the past couple of years the company just sat down and ironed out all the gremlins in the system.

Was really safari was launched in 1988 ??