Tata Motors, India’s third-largest passenger vehicle maker, expects 2024 to be good in terms of sales volume for the company’s passenger vehicles business.
What really drove 2023 was CNG and electric.CNG grew 25 percent and electric vehicles nearly 95 percent, and I think this is one trend that is going to stay in 2024 and also going forward.
So, from Tata Motors’ perspective, I would say that we are in a sweet spot. I think our portfolio has grown very strong and we intend to bring more models this year,” says Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors, Passenger Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Mobility.
Although increased input costs, rising commodity prices and inflation are the issues troubling most automakers, Chandra remains upbeat about the next few months. “Another counterbalancing factor has been the strong GDP growth. More and more people are getting lifted economically to have discretionary income to buy cars. That is one big mitigating factor that is playing out. Post COVID the behaviour has changed in favour of cars. I must say people rather than buying a house are possibly buying cars,” adds Chandra and says that the trend is very positive for cars but at the same time inflation and interest rates have really impacted the entry segment.
When asked what consumers look for when it comes to making a car purchase, Chandra says that they need the comfort of the brand. “And when I say comfort of the brand, it means that the brand is stable. It’s going to stay. A brand that they trust. For example, I would say that Tata has products that are synonymous with safety. The safest cars are associated with Tata. I think that is one space you have to occupy, there has to be one very strong differentiation that your brand needs to have. They also look for network presence across the country, and how will be the after-sales support. These are the factors which play behind the brand creation.” He feels that earlier cars were only seen as a means of moving from point A to point B. “Back then it was more about whether this is cheap or not. ‘Sasta Hain ke nahi’ or ‘Kitna Deti Hain’. So, those things have changed, brand has become important.”
Young buyers
He says a lot of passenger vehicle buyers are young, less than 35 years of age. “For them, everything that they use is a part of their expression of personality. How they live at home and how they live in a car is now a part of that. So cars have to be stylish, they don’t want to be seen in a car which is not expressing their personality from a styling perspective. So design also is becoming important. Price is becoming less important, I might be giving a very contrarian view here. But the facts show that 60 percent of my Nexon buyers, which is a Rs 10-11 lakh car, are first-time buyers. But there are cars which are much cheaper than that. Why a first-time buyer is choosing to buy a 10 lakh car because they want a car to be an object of experience with their families and friends.”