The ambitious Bolt and Zest models have not been able to generate the kind of attention Tata had hoped for while its rivals have been doing exceedingly well in terms of sales.
Tata Motors’ revival plan commenced with the completely new Zest compact sedan last year while the Bolt premium hatchback made its way into the market earlier this year. While the two new cars were instrumental in creating the initial buzz in the market and bring some attention to Tata’s passenger cars division, little has that converted into actual numbers with sales for the Zest and Bolt falling under 2500 units per month. Both the models compete in a heavily crowded segment with the rivals doing stupendously well on the sales front.
The Tata Zest opened to positive reviews from the critics and customers alike and even managed to beat the Honda Amaze briefly in monthly sales. Averaging over 3000 units every month initially, sales saw a major decline in the last three months with the lowest figure of 2121 units per month recorded in February this year. In comparison, the segment leader Maruti DZire clocks 18,000 units on an average while other models like the Honda Amaze have been averaging around 6000 units in the previous months.
The Tata Bolt received a lukewarm response right from the start and clocked a mere 2286 units in February this year. In comparison, the Maruti Swift has been doing well over 19,000 units while the Hyundai Grand i10 has been consistently clocking a little over 8000 units every month. Tata dealers suggest that the main reason for the Bolt’s slow sales is its proximity to the old Indica Vista in terms of appearance that hasn’t gone down well with the customers.
Tata Motors acknowledges that the absence of new products in the past five years and the dull market sentiment has been tough on the automaker but the Indica maker is looking at a long-term strategy and plans to grow step by step into the passenger vehicle business. Apart from the Zest and Bolt, the company also has the Kite (codename) twins scheduled for launch which are expected to be volume pullers while the recently revealed Hexa crossover concept is said to be Chairman Cyrus Mistry’s baby receiving extensive attention to detail and will hit the production line by 2016.
Source – EconomicTimes.com
