Tata Motors, the country largest auto company, has declared its plans to increase the market share of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) in North India. The decision was taken by considering the fact that the demand for SUVs from this region expanded by almost 60 per cent against 30 per cent from all over the country in the first half of fiscal 2013.
The President of passenger car division at Tata Motors, Ranjit Yadav said, “We are focusing a lot (on selling SUVs in north) as a lot of people here are procuring it.”
The demand for SUVs in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and UT Chandigarh increased by 58 per cent in the first half of ongoing fiscal. The figures indicate that the sales of SUVs in these regions marked a two-fold against the deliveries recorded in rest of the country during the same tenure.
In India, the market size of SUVs floats around 40,000 units per month, which clearly shows the penchant of Indian buyers towards big sized vehicles. Yadav further said that the Tata Motors marked a surge of 6 to 7 per cent in the passenger car sales during the last six months. He said, “We grew by 6-7 per cent in last six months.”
Yadav further added that the passenger car segment is anticipated to increase by 2 to 4 per cent in ongoing fiscal. “There are some challenges (being faced by the industry) and this year is the difficult year for car manufacturers,” he added later.
Owing to this, the auto maker has recently introduced its new generation Safari Storme at a price tag starting from Rs. 9.95 lacs. The model is equipped with cutting edge technology and a new Varicor engine, which is sure to strike right chords with the hearts of Indian auto aficionados. However, it must be noted that the SUV segment of Indian auto industry is currently dominated by Mahindra XUV500, which has done fairly well in the market. It will be a great challenge for Tata Motors to take on the likes of Mahindra’s model and emerge as a dominant in the UV market.
