Tata Motors is currently working on a combination of network expansion, dealer development and product repositioning to turn around its passenger vehicle sales. The new strategy put together by Mayank Pareek, president of the company, Tata Motors has already gained one per cent market share in the first five months of this year. “For the past seven-eight months, we have been outperforming industry,” said Pareek. “Part of the reason is that the company has launched new products after a hiatus of four-five years. With Zest and Bolt, we are getting the right type of customers coming to us,” he added. “Earlier, there were no new products, so we had to rely only on fleet customers. Now were are getting young executives and young families.”
A repositioning of its products has also helped the sales turnaround. “Historically, Tata Motors has been known for its diesel engines. But after the launch of the Revotron gasoline engine, both Bolt and Zest are now clocking 45-55% sales in petrol variants.” The company's older products have also been given a positioning tweak. “Our new models have grown, but re-segmenting and repositioning has also helped older models to grow in sales,” said Pareek. “We re-segmented the Indica to target smaller towns. Although it may be a bit dated for bigger towns, it's a perfect fit for smaller towns. Both the Indigo and the Indica are being repositioned for smaller markets,” he added.
“To expand our presence, we're also experimenting with our retail format,” Pareek said. “We're introducing the small dealership format for smaller markets where the customer gets the same experience but the showrooms are smaller. We are also working on virtual showrooms where customers can have 3D experience of the cars. We will introduce these digital showrooms in a year,” he added.
