Tata Motors banks on design to drive passenger vehicles growth

SN Barman, VP Sales, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, said a perception survey conducted nationally captured this positive sentiment towards the company’s design progress. “Our cars were not part of the shopping list two years ago perhaps, but the Impact design philosophy of TaMo” had brought in stupendous results, he said. 

The former Maruti veteran, who had joined TaMo two years ago, was in the city to unveil Zest Premio – a special edition car in the Sedan segment. The ex-showroom price of the sedan in Chennai is Rs 7.46 lakh for the diesel version. Barman said, TaMo has recorded its fastest growth in two years to position itself as the number three auto player in the country. The four products launched during this period have accelerated growth with TaMo showing 22 to 25 per cent surge in 2016-17, whereas the industry grew by 17 per cent. Similarly, in Apr’17-Feb’18 period, compared to the single-digit growth of 7.5 per cent of the industry, TaMo touched 22 per cent. Last month, TaMo grew by 45 per cent, while the industry clocked 7.8 per cent, he sought to point out.

Noting that this was a good sign with young Indian customers finding its designs more appealing, he said the company had “big plans to grow.” 

The Tata Zest had already over 85,000 customers in the country, he said, adding it was the only sedan to get 4 stars in safety by Global NCAP. Incidentally, 56 per cent of buyers were below 40 years. Barman admitted the visitors’ experience was encouraging at Delhi Auto Expo this year, which bore testimony to the design and aesthetic appeal of the products showcased by TaMo. 

Tata Motors unveiled an electric concept with long range and class defining interiors as part of its plans to consolidate its green mobility portfolio. Built on a modified OMEGA (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced) EV architecture, the ‘E-Vision Sedan Concept’ is capable of attaining a top speed of 200 km/hr. It can also race to 0-100 km/hr in less than 7 seconds, the company claimed. 

“We are committed to the mission of electric mobility and are working to build sustainable future,” Tata Motors CEO-MD Guenter Butschek said at the world premiere of the model here. Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran and group patriarch Ratan Tata were also present on the occasion. “It powers our electric aspirations. It is one of the most definitive and aspirational product by an Indian OEM and will be a game changer, reiterating our commitment to offer world-class design, technology and drive the EV revolution to build a sustainable future,” Butschek said.