Tata cars aren’t really selling in good numbers despite the new HORIZONEXT program and a slew of new launches.
Tata Motors is betting big on the Indian market by launching more and more new products. Despite so many efforts being taken by the company, the automaker is still not able to sell cars in good numbers. The company launched the Zest compact sedan in 2014 and it came across as a huge improvement over other vehicles from the same stable. The Zest sold in decent numbers for the initial few months and then its sales settled down slightly under the 2000 units mark. In comparison, its rivals like the Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent are selling in 6000-odd units a month while the Maruti Swift DZire is way above them all with 16,000-odd units a month.
Tata Motors then launched the Bolt hatchback in 2015 and it is positioned to compete directly with the Maruti Swift but thanks to its costly pricing, the vehicle didn’t really pull a string with buyers in the segment. The Bolt is now averaging sales below 1000 units a month and only a couple of times in the past has it averaged close to 1800-odd units. The Nano has always been a low-seller and it sold 1365 units in May, but, we feel that the introduction of the new GenX Nano will be well accepted by the market and its sales should go up in the next few months. The Nano received almost 40,000 enquiries in the first two weeks after its launch.
The Safari and the Safari Storme are selling in close to 1000 units a month combined. This figure has remained consistent, but with the half-hearted Storme facelift that was launched this month, we feel that this number isn’t really going to rise. It is also quite surprising to see that Tata vehicles which are very, very old and outdated are still selling in good numbers. The Indica and Indica Vista are bringing in sales of 3000-odd units while the Indigo and Manza are also selling in 2000-odd units a month. Tata Motors will soon launch the Kite hatchback and sedan in India while the Hexa will also follow soon.
In the last fiscal, Tata Motors was at fourth position in the top five manufacturers in India. However, this time the company has slipped down to sixth position and the top five list now consists of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai. Mahindra, Honda and Toyota. Ford is at seventh position. Tata Motors sold 1.38 lakh units in the last fiscal whereas this time they sold 1.34 lakh units.
The main reason for the company’s vehicles not selling in good numbers is the fact that people still don’t have a good perception about Tata Motors. Everyone feels that the automaker still produces cars that are unreliable or come with niggling issues. What the company needs to do is create some new brand strategy that helps customers and potential buyers connect more to the brand.
