With the Zest and Bolt failing to make any significant impact in the Indian market place, Tata Motors Limited (TML) is counting on its latest baby Tiago to fire up sales.

A SIAM report indicates that total passenger vehicle sales notched a rise of 7% at the end of fiscal 2016 to stand at 2.79 million units. However cumulative sales of passenger vehicles for Tata Motors declined by 6% in the same period to 1.27 lakh units.

Currently, the production numbers for the Zest stand at 2200 units per month while those for the Bolt and Nano stand at 800 and 2000 respectively.

The Tiago which will be produced at TML’s plant in Sanand where the Nano is also made, is the first of four new vehicles that TML has announced it will launch over the next 12-16 months.

While it is aggressively priced to start at Rs 3.28 lakh (ex showroom for the base petrol variant), and has the fuel-efficient all-aluminium Revotron engine, given that after sales service has been a pain point for the company, the latest the launch of a host of initiatives on this front could be a key differentiator.

These include a new app that can be downloaded on cell phones that will give customers not only the option of booking an appointment for servicing the vehicle, but also provide a calculator to estimate the cost based on service history well which will also be available on their palm top gadgets.

“We have launched this app along with the Tiago, but this will be available to all Tata Motors customers,” Ashesh Dhar, national head sales, for passenger vehicles said.

He was speaking after the launch in Pune of the Tiago which will compete with existing mid-segment hatchbacks like Hyundai i10, Maruti’s Wagon R and Celerio, the Honda Brio and Chevrolet Beat.

The other three models unveiled by the company at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo are Hexa and Nexon (both SUVs) and the Kite 5 sedan.

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