Tata Motors embarked on an aggressive product-led game-plan to regain market share in the passenger vehicle segment as well as the commercial vehicle segment. It is now seeing smart gains in terms of market share. In the PV space, the carmaker has been upping its game due to its newfound core attribute – vehicle design.
The company has launched a slew of new products in recent history which have taken the market by surprise – not one, not two, but three times, in a row. It’s not surprising, then, that Pratap Bose, head of design at Tata Motors, won the 2018 World Design award at the recent World Industrial Design Conference in China. The award was for his role in using design as an enabler for volume and market share gain for the automaker.
The Tata Tiago despite being the company’s smallest offering instantly became a segment-hit for its value-for-money packaging, soon after its launch in March 2016. Meanwhile, its compact sedan sibling, the Tigor, won accolades for its coupé-like notchback design – a first in the sub-four-metre segment.
Tata Motors’ latest offering is no different when it comes to breaking stereotypes in design; the Nexon compact SUV is one of those few production models which are as close to their concept form as they were during 3D-visualisation.
Launched in September 2017, the home-grown carmaker’s UV market share has been consistently on the rise since the crossover’s introduction. From being pegged at 2.68 percent in August 2017, Tata Motors’ UV market share today stands at a healthy 8.31 percent, with the company selling 6,578 UVs in the month of April 2018 (April 2017: 1,607 / 2.27 percent). Passenger car sales, on the other hand, grossed 10,657 units, maintaining its market hold at 5.32 percent (April 2017: 11,220 / 5.88 percent).
Tata Motors sold a total of 19,157 units, last month – a substantial increment of 36.19 percent over year-ago sales of 14,066 units – thus increasing its PV market share from 5.07 percent in April 2017 to 6.42 percent, a year later.
While the company saw continued demand for the Tiago hatchback, it also witnessed more than three-fold growth in its UV sales based on the strong performance of the Nexon – somewhat aided by marginal numbers of the full-size Hexa SUV, as well, which sold 818 units in the month. The Nexon has cumulatively sold 33,088 units since its launch. With Tata Motors also bringing out the AMT version of the crossover (in its petrol and diesel engine variants, alike) the company could now see its sales soar even further, now.
As always, though, there's also new competition for this frontrunner. Maruti Suzuki launched the popular Vitara Brezza’s AMT variants on March 9, 2018. Priced at Rs 8.54 lakh, the Brezza variants are squarely targeted to take on the likes of the Nexon AMT. Maruti’s move has made the SUV battlefield a lot more exciting.
MAYANK DHINGRA
Uday Singh
Lenny D'sa
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
