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Nachiket Kelkar
Nachiket Kelkar

AUTOMOBILE MARKET

Tata Motors hopes to cover 95% of passenger vehicle market by 2020

tata-nexon Mayank Pareek (on the left), President of the passenger vehicle business unit and Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD of Tata Motors at the launch of Tata Nexon

Tata Motors, which is regaining momentum in the passenger vehicle market with several new launches in the last 18 months, hopes to fill the gaps with more launches and cover 95 per cent of the addressable market by 2020, as it looks to clawback market share and aspires to become the third largest car maker in the country.

“We cover only 60 per cent of the market today. Major segments of the market like premium hatchbacks, premium sedans, big UVs we are not there. The entry into the compact sports utility vehicle segment will add 10 to 11 per cent, we should be covering 95 per cent of the market by 2020,” Mayank Pareek, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, said on Sept 21.

The car maker, began a turnaround with the Tiago hatchback launched last year, and has since launched the Hexa SUV and the Tigor compact sedan.

The new launches have helped Tata Motors' sales accelerate ahead of the market. In the year ended on March 2017, the company's sales rose by 22 per cent, versus the industry growth of 9 per cent, Pareek noted. So far this financial year, Tata Motors' sales have grown by around 11 per cent.

On Sept 21, it launched the much anticipated Nexon compact SUV. It is priced aggressively, with introductory prices starting Rs 5.87 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai (Rs 5.85 lakh in Delhi) for the 1.2 litre turbocharged petrol engine model and Rs 6.87 lakh for the 1.5 litre turbocharged diesel model.

The top-end models will cost Rs 8.62 lakh and Rs 9.47 lakh, respectively.

The Nexon will be up against tough competition from Maruti Suzuki's Vitara Brezza and Hyundai's Creta. Vitara Brezza, which is currently the market leader by a wide margin, sold 14,396 units in August. Brezza's prices start at Rs 7.30 lakh ex-showroom.

There will also be competition from Ford's EcoSport and Mahindra's TUV300. However, Tata Motors doesn't believe it is late in the segment and is confident that the Nexon will become a “blockbuster brand.”

Looking ahead, Tata Motors will launch two new platforms in the beginning of 2019. The first of the two is the advanced modular platform (AMP), which will be the base for the company's next generation of hatchbacks and sedans.

“Our whole strategy is actually based on the basic assumption that this is all about profitable growth where we need lots of upfront investment. The new products to come will be based on either one or the other platform where we are going to create economies of scale via high end of commonality,” said Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD of Tata Motors.

The company is also strengthening its sales network, which will enable it to sell more cars. Over the last two years, it has added 200 outlets and hopes to have close to 1,200 outlets by 2020 from around 650 now.

“We are also exploring possibilities of digital showrooms, exploring possibilities of virtual showrooms, idea being that instead of expecting customers to come to you, can we go to places where customers exist,” added Pareek.



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Topics : #Tata Motors

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