2018 has been a good year for Tata Motor’s Passenger Vehicle business, coming out of their corner swinging at the Auto Expo 2018, with the showcase of two all-new products that grabbed the public eye and brought attention to the Tata Motors brand. The two vehicles the Tata H5X Concept, that is now known as the Tata Harrier SUV, and the Tata 45X premium hatch brought the limelight to the Tata Group and brought them front and centre in the eyes of the people. Tata Motors chose these two vehicles for the debut to showcase their two newest platforms, the Land Rover derived OMEGARC and the ALFARC, that would serve as the foundation for 8 future Tata Motors cars. This was followed by the announcement of the Turnaround 2.0 strategy that laid its focus on ‘winning sustainably’ in the PV Business. Acting as a catalyst, this strategy led to multiple wins for the PV business in this year.
Lots of companies have touted turn around strategies in the past, but, Tata Motors’ has likely been the most holistic and can be traced back to the Hexa, the Tigor and the Nexon, that brought design and appeal to the forefront, something that was long missing from Tata Motors cars. While the Harrier and the 45X were good poster boys in 2018, the legwork came surely from the Nexon and the Tata Tiago. The Tata Nexon became the first Indian made car to score a full five stars in the GNCAP tests. It proved that Tata Motors’ turn-around was not just skin deep and brought a focus on safety in Indian cars, something that has long been missing from not just Tata Motors but the entire spectrum of Indian manufacturers. The Tata Tiago too, was one of the stronger players of 2018, emerging as the second best selling car in its segment! Even now despite the return of the legendary Hyundai Santro, the Tata Tiago still retained its position.
Talking about the results of the strong turn-around, Mr Mayank Pareek, President – Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, (PVBU) Tata Motors, said that Tata Motors started the year on a high note, with sales reaching the highest point that the company has seen in almost 3 years in January 2018. As the year passed, Tata Motors bolstered their sales with an array of new launches in the private vehicle segment this helped them grow volumes during what was a rather sluggish period for the entire auto industry. ot being deterred by these headwinds, our PV Business registered a remarkable improvement in brand perception in 2018 owing to our forward-looking market strategy, leaving the close competition significantly behind.
Pareek went on to say that they are happy to conclude this year with the unprecedented response by our customers and partners for the Harrier, at our nationwide preview events. With the launch scheduled for early 2019 and with the continuous love showered on our existing new generation product range by our customers, Tata Motors’ will continue to strive towards driving volumes and increase our market share as part of our on-going Turnaround journey.
It’s not just new vehicles, Tata Motors has bettered their customer service, with more initiatives like the 24×7 Road Side Assistance service, Service Buddy app (ready reckoner used by service advisors), Tata Motors Service Connect app (Customer App), Tata Motors Service application (Job card opening app). This was exemplified by the company retaining its spot at the second place of JD Powers Customer Satisfaction study. With the Harrier and the 45X set to launch next year, Tata Motors could be a company to watch for in 2019, with their renewed focus. Best summed up by Mr Mayank Pareek himself who said “365 days bring with it 365 new opportunities. Having said that, given the number of hits in 2018, Tata Motors is all geared to step up its game in 2019.”
