Tata Motors is back in the black in October 2023, after having seen two consecutive months of sales decline in August and September. The company dispatched a total of 48,637 units last month, which constitutes 7% YoY growth (October 2022: 45,423 units). As per Autocar Professional data analytics, October 2023 wholesales are estimated to be the best monthly numbers yet for the car and SUV manufacturer.
Cumulative sales for the first seven months of FY2024 are 328,026 units, up 3% on year-ago sales of 318,558 units in April-September 2022. On a caendar-year basis, the 463,680 uits constitute 5% growth (see data table below).
Considering that the company had registered all-time high fiscal sales of 544,391 units in FY2023, cumulative sales of 328,026 units in April-October 2023 are already 60% of that score. However, with increasing competition, Tata Motors has its task cut out.
The company is among the few passenger vehicle OEMs with multiple powertrains spanning petrol, diesel, CNG and electric and currently has a seven-model portfolio comprising four SUVs (Nexon, Punch, Harrier, Safari), two hatchbacks (Tiago and Altroz) and one sedan (Tigor).
Despite the PV industry seeing demand slow down for sedans and hatchbacks, Tata Motors has been among the few OEMs to buck the downturn. In the first six months of FY2024, Tata’s car and sedan share increased to 13% from 10% a year ago. Tata, which has three cars in this segment (Altroz, Tiago and Tigor), clearly is benefiting from its multi-fuel and multi-powertrain strategy. The company’s move to counter fresh competition in the form of the Hyundai Exter CNG with the Tata Punch CNG would also have helped draw buyers.
October saw the launch of the facelifted Harrier and Safari SUVs, both of which achieved a top 5-star rating in the Global NCAP test. While the these two models would have seen initial sales in October, their numbers should see an upward movement in the coming months.
MAINTAINING THE FIRST-MOVER EV-ADVANTAGE
Meanwhile, on the EV sales front, e-PV market leader Tata Motors continues to make gains. It has expanded the addressable market with three body styles – sedan (Tigor / X-Pres T, SUV (Nexon.ev) and hatchback (Tiago.ev) – which cater to both the premium and mass market customer segments.
This eco-friendly stable of zero-emission cars and SUVs has helped the company reach out towards its target audience – both personal EV buyers and EV fleet buyers. While the Nexon.ev continues to be the model with the maximum demand and the Tiago.ev the most affordable hatchback on four wheels, the company continues to benefit from demand from fleet operators, who achieve substantial gains from wallet-friendly EVs as compared to petrol, diesel or even CNG-powered cars. The bulk of the sales for the Tigor EV are for the X-Pres T fleet-only EV.
In October 2023, Tata Motors sold a total of 5,465 EVs, up 28% on year-ago sales of 4,277 units. In the fiscal year to date, the company has sold 43,426 EVs, which account for a 13.23% share of total PV sales.
Tata Motors is also upping the ante in EVs, given that a Punch EV, equipped with a front charging slot, was snapped testing recently. What’s more, in a measure designed to generate additional manufacturing capacity at its Pune plant, the company is de-bottlenecking its ALFA modular architecture setup. These include engineering modifications such as adding extra rows or spots on assembly lines, both to augment capacity and also speed up production. Furthermore, the exercise is expected to help accommodate multiple car models as well as making the assembly lines and paint shop more adaptable to roll out multiple variants.
Clearly, Tata Motors is readying for fresh battle in the marketplace. Will these new moves give it a new charge on the sales front? We have to wait to find out.