Tata Motors poised for major change: Mistry

Tata Motors is working on a whole new line of products and technologies keeping in view the changing market, customer aspirations and regulatory needs, chairman Cyrus Mistry said.

Mistry, who is leading the change, said the company was poised for an "inflection", even as it revamped its entire product portfolio, beginning with the launch of the Zest and Bolt in a few weeks from now.

"Tata Motors is working on a strong pipeline of products and technologies keeping in view the changing market, customers' aspirations and regulatory needs," Mistry wrote in Tata Motors' 69th annual report.

"The company has steadily progressed in all these areas (new products, quality improvement and enhancement of the consumer experience) and is inculcating a culture intolerant to poor quality and committed to customer delight." Mistry said.

Tata Motors is looking at launching a couple of models each year till 2020 as the company looks to ramp up its portfolio in the competitive Indian car market.

"We are working on a product strategy that started last year. The plan is to bring a couple of new vehicles every year," a PTI quoted Tata Motors president, passenger vehicles Ranjit Yadav as saying.

The new vehicles will also cater to global markets and service various "attractive" segments, he added without giving more details on the product launches.

The company is also working on enhancing quality of manufacturing facilities, improving customer satisfaction and after sales experience, Yadav said.

Tata Motors on Friday launched a country-wide campaign to showcase its new 1.2 litre petrol engine that will power its soon-to-be-launched models Zest and Bolt models.

"The Revotron 1.2 T will power our upcoming cars, the Zest and Bolt. To narrate this exciting story, we are engaging with our customers through various platforms," Yadav said.

The company will showcase the engine thorough Revotron Labs to customers across 15 cities. It plans to extend the campaign to digital platforms.

Tata Motors senior vice president, programme planning and project management, Girish Wagh, said the Revotron range of engines would be manufactured at the company's Pune plant.

"The engines from Revotron series would power the upcoming products from the company's stable," Wagh said.

Tata Motors is also developing a new 800cc diesel engine, Wagh said, adding that the Nano with AMT version, which was showcased during Auto Expo, is likely to be launched next month.

Mistry said Tata Motors will remain committed to making investments in its cash-rich subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, which makes the two "iconic brands and plans to deliver new products in five years". The brands closed the last year with record sales of 434,311 units and launched products such as the Jaguar F Type, Range Rover Sport and new Range Rover.

Domestic passenger vehicle sales of Tata Motors, on the other hand, dived 37 per cent to 198,812 units last year, as demand for Nano, Indica, Indigo, Safari and Sumo slumped. During the year, sector sales in the segment came down six per cent, while market leader Maruti Suzuki posted flat growth.

Sales of commercial vehicles, where the company has 50 per cent market share, fell 29 per cent to 317,887 units against the sales of 2012-13, according to data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

"Tata Motors' domestic business, in this tough environment, lost market share in commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles businesses," added Mistry. While the competition in both the segments remained quite aggressive with almost all the players resorting to huge discounting, Tata Motors' approach was cautious and responsible", added Mistry.