 "Upgrades are here: Tata Motors launches 8 variants to lure buyers")
In a bid to rev up sagging sales, Tata Motors today launched eight upgraded models of its different passenger vehicles, including the CNG version of its entry
level small car Nano. but said little about plans for completely new vehicles to help reverse sliding car sales in India.
The company has also introduced new CNG versions of the hatchback Indica and entry level sedan Indigo along with refreshed versions of the two models in diesel options. Also, the company introduced refreshed models of its sports utility vehicle Safari Storme and utility vehicle Sumo Gold.
[caption id=“attachment_887309” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Tata Nano[/caption]
“The market has been bad in the past two months but since then there has been some improvements. We hope to recoup with these new models as they have been done with extensive customer feed back,” Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym told reporters here.
The Nano, Indica and Indigo variants, including CNG are ready for shipments, while Safari and Sumo will be in the next three months, he added.
Tata Motors hasn’t announced the prices of the new vehicles yet. This is the first time that the company has introduced such a large number of new vehicles on a single day.
The company has been witnessing declining sales in a market, which has been on a prolonged slump.
In May Tata Motors had reported 23.37 per cent decline in total vehicle sales at 49,304 units. Its total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 11,134 units in May, down 45.69 per cent from 20,503 units in the same month last year.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn recent quarters, strong performance at its luxury Jaguar Land Rover unit has helped compensate for weak passenger car sales at home, where Tata is losing market share to rivals Hyundai Motor Co and Maruti Suzuki), which last year launched its successful Ertiga multi-purpose vehicle.
“There have been new launches by Tata’s competitors every year, but as far as the company is concerned, they have just been launching refreshed or slightly modified versions of their existing cars,” said Yaresh Kothari, analyst at Mumbai-based Angel Broking.
SUVs, especially compact SUVs and soft roaders, or those used mainly on city roads such as Renault’s Duster, have been a bright spot for the auto market in India, where sales fell for the seventh consecutive month in May.
Earlier this week Ford Motor Co began shipping its locally made EcoSport compact SUV. Tata Motors also has plans to launch a mini-SUV.
Tata plans to invest more than 75 billion rupees in its passenger vehicle business over the next five years. Less than 30 percent of that has been earmarked for facilities or upgrading hardware, leaving the rest for new products.
“The company needs to launch a new vehicle on an all-new platform at a competitive price,” Kothari said.
Agencies
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