Tata Motors has emerged because the market chief within the compact SUV phase in FY22, beating Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki India. The firm’s Nexon (the interior combustion engine variant) emerged because the largest-selling compact SUV at 122,000 items, greater than Maruti Suzuki’s Vitara Brezza (114,000 items), Hyundai’s Venue (105,000 items) and Kia’s Sonet (74,000 items).
Other compact SUVs in India (Mahindra XUV300, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, and Tata Punch) collectively bought 260,000 items.
Automotive analysts FE spoke with mentioned a number of causes labored in favour of Tata Motors in FY22, together with the truth that prospects knew Hyundai can be launching the Venue facelift and Maruti Suzuki the all-new Vitara Brezza in June this yr.
“When a car is in its outgoing phase, sales tend to drop for that model unless there are heavy discounts that can boost sales,” one analyst mentioned. “In FY22, we didn’t see major discounts at the showroom level because car availability itself was a challenge.”
Tata Motors additionally used the federal government’s ‘vocal for local’ marketing campaign to its benefit. Since 2020, Tata vehicles include a ‘vocal for local’ sticker on them, often on the rear glass. A Gurgaon automotive supplier of a competitor carmaker advised FE that he has heard from consumers, and unusually so, that Tata Motors is extra Indian than different carmakers making in India, despite the fact that the availability chain of all carmakers is international.
Gaurav Vangaal, affiliate director, Light Vehicle Forecasting, S&P Global Mobility, advised FE that Tata Motors was in a position to elevate capability final yr and, due to this fact, vehicles such because the Nexon had a lesser ready interval than rivals just like the Vitara Brezza and the Venue. “While last year the average waiting period of the Nexon was about six months — similar to other compact SUVs — dealers were able to deliver it to customers in less than three months,” Vangaal mentioned. “There are high chances of customers moving from competitors to Tata because of the latter’s lesser waiting period; if a customer wants a car, she usually wants it ‘now’.”
Vinkesh Gulati, president, the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (Fada), just lately advised FE that Tata Motors is among the many few carmakers to have raised automotive manufacturing capability of late. “Tata Motors has been able to raise capacity and could even reach 45,000 cars per month,” Gulati mentioned.
In May, Tata Motors turned India’s second-largest carmaker, overtaking the legacy No. 2 Hyundai India. Tata Motors bought 43,341 vehicles, beating Hyundai India’s 42,293 unit gross sales.
Going ahead, analysts mentioned Maruti Suzuki will regain its management place within the compact SUV phase. “The all-new Vitara Brezza has created quite a stir even before its launch,” Vangaal mentioned. “It is sure to pull a large section of customers to Maruti Suzuki showrooms. To some extent, even the new Venue will attract a section of buyers, impacting the sales share of the Nexon in the next few months.”
Another analyst mentioned a horde of shoppers need to purchase compact SUVs however there aren’t sufficient vehicles out there because of the semiconductor scarcity. “With Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai increasing supplies in this segment, they will attract buyers,” the analyst added.
Compact SUV has turn out to be the biggest automotive body-type in India with gross sales of 675,000 items in FY22. These have grown from 5% gross sales share of total passenger autos (PVs) in FY16 to eight% in FY17, 11% in FY18 and FY19, 13% in FY20, 16% in FY21 and 22% in FY22. Compact SUV can also be probably the most participated phase in India, with eight carmakers providing 9 fashions.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”