Nexon helps quadruple Tata Motors’ UV market share

Tata Motors, which embarked on an aggressive product-led game-plan to regain market share, both in the passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle segments, is seeing smart gains in terms of market share.

In the PV space, the company has been upping its game as a result of its newfound core attribute – vehicle design. The company has launched a slew of new products in the recent past, which have taken the market by surprise, not one, or two, but three times over in a row. Little wonder then that its head of design, Pratap Bose won the 2018 World Design award at the recent World Industrial Design Conference in China for  for his role to use design as an enabler for volume and market share gain for Tata Motors.

While its smallest offering, the Tata Tiago instantly became a segment hit for its value-for-money packaging soon after its launch in March 2016, its compact sedan sibling, the Tigor won accolades for its coupe-like notchback design, a first in the sub-4-metre space.

Nexon gives a new charge to Tata's UV sales  
Tata Motors’ latest offering, the Nexon compact SUV is no different when it comes to breaking stereotypes in design and is one of those few models which are as closest to their concept form in reality, as they are during 3D visualisation.

Launched in September 2017, the Nexon has been catapulting the home-grown carmaker’s UV market share, which has been consistently on the rise since the crossover’s introduction. From being pegged at 2.68 percent in August 2017, Tata Motors’ UV market share today stands at a healthy 8.31 percent, with the company selling 6,578 UVs in the month of April 2018 (April 2017: 1,607 / 2.27%). Passenger car sales, on the other hand, grossed 10,657 units, maintaining its market hold at 5.32 percent (April 2017: 11,220 / 5.88%).   

Tata Motors cumulatively sold 19,157 units last month, a substantial increment of 36.19 percent over year-ago sales of 14,066 units, increasing its PV market share from 5.07 percent in April 2017 to 6.42 percent a year later.

While it saw continued demand for the Tiago hatchback, the company also witnessed more than three-fold growth in its UV sales based on the strong performance of the Nexon and some aided by marginal numbers of the full-size Hexa SUV as well, which sold 818 units in the month.

The Nexon has cumulatively sold 33,088 units since its launch, and with Tata Motors also bringing out the AMT version of the crossover, in its petrol and diesel engine variants, the company could now see sales soar even further. But there's also new competition: Maruti Suzuki India has, on May 9, launched the popular Vitara Brezza now with AMT. Priced at Rs 854,000, it is squarely targeted at the Nexon AMT. The SUV battlefield just turned a lot more exciting.   

Also read: Tata Motors' sharper focus on customer service ethos pays off