October 2024 | 713 Words | 2-minute read
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2024 marked a historic milestone in Tata Motors SUV journey, with the automaker clocking 2 million+ SUVs on Indian roads. The company’s wide SUV portfolio, which includes the Safari, Harrier, Nexon, Punch, along with the iconic nameplates of the yesteryears, the Sierra and the Safari, have been instrumental in achieving this milestone.
From launching the first SUV in India — The Tata Sierra in 1991, to showcasing India’s first ever compact SUV concept — the Nexon at the 2014 Auto Expo, to introducing an all-new category of a sub-compact SUV with the Punch, Tata Motors’ spirit of innovation is continuing to define the SUV category in the country. Each of these robust SUVs have been segment defining and together embody Tata Motors’ dedication to providing best-in-class safety, cutting-edge design, and advanced technologies, in line with customer expectations.
Market Shift
The milestone for Tata Motors came close on the heels of another. In FY24, the top two SUVs sold In India — the Nexon and Punch — sported the Tata logo. Among them, Tata Punch has now become the fastest to cross 4 the lakh sales milestone among SUVs and is well on to becoming India’s #1 car in FY25*.
"The achievement of the 2 million SUV sales mark is a testament to this approach and sets the pace for the future growth of the SUV category." - Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.
“As demographics shift, we see a rising base of young and aspirational consumer emerging. Their preference for safe, smart and feature-rich vehicles with greener powertrains is resulting in a growing demand for SUVs and high-end variants. The shift in customer preference for SUVs gained prominence with over 50% sales coming from this segment,” Tata Motors has noted.
The segment shift in the industry continued in FY24. “The SUV segment salience has crossed 50% for the first time,” the company added in its annual report. “The surge in SUV volumes stems from the rising number of first-time buyers opting for SUVs. At the same time, the SUV space is becoming more competitive with the addition of more nameplates, as most of the new nameplates launched in FY24 were SUVs.”
Winning Product Strategy
Along with the segment shift, the uptick is also driven by a winning product strategy. In the past financial year alone, Tata Motors introduced facelifts for the Nexon, Harrier and Safari in H2, in line with the shifting customer preferences. The facelifts offered segment-leading features with a digital design and best-in-class safety.
Each facelift was received a 5-star rating reinforcing the company’s brand pillar of safety. The Harrier and Safari, in particular, received the highest GNCAP scores making them the safest cars on Indian roads. The two SUVs, which are assembled by a 3,000+ all-women team, also became the first vehicles to achieve 5-star BNCAP rating —India’s own safety standard.
“SUVs will continue to dominate the landscape with more options for customers to choose from. At Tata Motors, with new nameplates and launches planned, we will continue our growth trajectory and expect to deliver strong growth.” - Sailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited & Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.
With these, Tata Motors now has the largest portfolio, spanning price points, of 5-star rated B-NCAP and G-NCAP SUVs. “Our ability to understand the SUV segment and provide the right product for every customer need, helps us immensely to maintain consistency and dominant leadership in the segment,” said Mr. Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. “Supported by our multi powertrain strategy, our approach is to provide Indian consumers with world-class SUVs that are robust, safe and technologically advanced. The achievement of the 2 million SUV sales mark is a testament to this approach and sets the pace for the future growth of the SUV category.”
Eye on FY25
In FY25, the shift in customer preference towards SUVs is expected to continue.
Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited & Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, has noted, “Due investments were made in expanding capacity and building organisational capability in line with our growth aspirations. Partnerships with vendors and channel partners were strengthened and focused talent training programmes conducted across levels and functions. The new manufacturing facility acquired at Sanand was made operational within just a year of taking over. It creates additional production capacity, which can be expanded to 4,20,000 units, and provisions a cumulative annual manufacturing footprint of 1 million cars and SUVs.”
He added, “SUVs will continue to dominate the landscape with more options for customers to choose from. At Tata Motors, with new nameplates and launches planned, we will continue our growth trajectory and expect to deliver strong growth.”
*YTD FY25
