Tata Motors Harrier may revive auto major's fortunes in passenger vehicle segment

Striving hard to revive its fortunes in the passenger vehicle (PV) for the last couple of years, Tata Motors has great expectations with its upcoming SUV Harrier. The auto major is making great effort to place itself among the top three passenger vehicle manufacturers on a sustainable basis with this latest launch, a top company executive reportedly said.

In an interview with PTI, Tata Motors CEO and MD Guenter Butschek said the company had decided in 2016 to aim for the number three spot in the PV segment by the end of 2018-19 financial year.

The company CEO told the news agency, "We were number seven at that point in time. When we became number three for the first time in October last year on a monthly basis, we surprised ourselves. At no given point of time the organisation really had a belief that this is going to be possible." 

The company has broken into top three positions thrice on monthly sales basis behind leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India, said Butschek, adding "At least in three of the (last) 12 months we made it even with limited scope of new products." 

Having made its presence felt with products like Nexon, Tiago and Hexa, Tata Motors now expects its new offering Harrier will further cement its position in the domestic market.

Notably, in April-October period this fiscal, Tata Motors is at fourth position with sales of 1,38,732 units, a growth of 25.65 per cent over the same period of 2017-18.

Maruti Suzuki is reportedly at the top with sales of 10,44,749 units followed by Hyundai at second position with 3,26,178 units, while Mahindra & Mahindra is at the third position with 1,45,462 units, marginal growth over same period of last fiscal.

The new model, which is based on Land Rover's D8 Architecture, is scheduled for launch next month. It will take on popular products like Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV500.

Butschek said the new product would help the company move from "value offerings to a premium offering", adding 
"It improves attractiveness of the brand. It brings us a wider set of customers if we get the sales and after sales experience right." 

Tata Motors' Nexon has recently been adjudged as the first made in India, sold in India car to achieve the coveted five star crash test rating in Global NCAP’s latest update to #SaferCarsForIndia campaign. While Mahindra's Marazzo MPV was awarded a four-star safety rating for adult occupancy by Global NCAP's crash tests.