Six months post launch and the Tata Zest has not managed to equal its contemporaries in the segment which have beaten it in sales month after month.
The Zest has been Tata Motors’ resurrection in the passenger car market and rightfully so, the automaker has come a long way from its average quality vehicles that offered little in the name of features. Tata’s new and dedicated approach with the Zest proved the kind of potential an Indian automaker can have and the features that its competitors are seriously lacking. That being said, six months into the launch of the Zest and the compact sedan has done little to puts its rivals into jeopardy in terms of sales.
Since its launch in August last year, the Tata Zest has cumulatively sold in the past six months what the segment leader Maruti DZire does in a single month. While the comparison may not be justifiable as such, the Zest wasn’t able to match up to the next best Honda Amaze or the third best selling Hyundai Xcent in the segment. Sure it did beat the Amaze in October and November sales last year, but the Amaze was quick to bounce back in the succeeding months and continues to claim the lead. Unlike its rivals, the Zest has barely passed the 3500+ units per month mark once since its launch.
While sales may not have been as optimistic as the competition, analysts suggest that the Tata Zest’s consistent volumes in the past months is certainly commendable. The Zest is making consumers more confident about the Tata brand and if the compact sedan is able to sustain these volumes in the long-term, it will help Tata to keep momentum for its upcoming launches which are two new products every financial year. Furthermore, it is also believed that the long-term success of the Zest is critical for Tata considering the excitement around a new product wears off after around two years.
With the compact sedan segment set to grow further, it is extremely critical for Tata Motors to do well against rivals and also against offerings in the premium hatchback space that are similarly priced. Between mid-August 2014 and end of January 2015, the Tata Zest clocked a total of 19,174 units; whereas the Honda Amaze sold 31,718 units and Hyundai Xcent sold 25,832 units during the same period. The segment leader Maruti DZire did little to attract buyers and still clocked in 53,864 units for the August-January period, more than twice the number of Zests sold.
Source – FinancialExpress.com