Tata Motors, the third-ranked passenger vehicle manufacturer in India after Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, has dispatched a total of 47,983 units in the first month of FY2024, up 2% year on year (April 2023: 47,107 units).
After three straight months of 50,000-plus sales – January 2024 (53,633 units, up 12%) February 2024 (51,267 units, up 20%) and March 2024 (50,110 units, up 14%), April 2024 numbers indicate a marginal slowdown. The fact of the matter is that in an expanding market, there is strong SUV competition from Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India which is impacting Tata Motors.
What continues to benefit Tata Motors is that its ‘New Forever’ portfolio spans petrol, diesel, CNG and electric powertrains, thereby considerably expanding its advantage compared to most of its rivals. In FY2024, CNG and EV sales contributed to nearly 29% of record sales of 582,915 units.
The company, which retails seven PVs — Altroz, Tigor, Tiago, Nexon, Punch, Harrier and the Safari — continues to see strong demand for its SUVs, particularly the Nexon and the Punch compact SUVs, the No. 1 and No. 3 SUVs, respectively, in India last fiscal. Sales have been slowing down for the Nexon but with a CNG model soon in the offing, Tata Motors’ best-seller should soon be back to big numbers. Meanwhile, the Punch, whose portfolio has expanded with the rollout of CNG and EV variants, continues to punch above its weight and snare sales from rivals. Tata Motors has two hatchbacks – the mid-level Tiago and the premium Altroz – which are estimated to have a good consumer following.
A key factor that acts as a catalyst to Tata Motors’ growth is its first-mover advantage in India’s electric vehicle market, where it has an over 70% market share with its Nexon EV, Tigor EV and Xpres-T (for fleet buyers), Tiago EV and Punch EV.
In April 2024, Tata’s electric car and SUV wholesales at 6,364 units were down 2% on April 2023’s 6,516 units. This is probably the first time in at least two years that Tata Motors’ EV wholesales have seen a decline, indicating growing market competition. It is also likely that the company is rationalising its EV inventory at its showrooms across the country
Meanwhile, the EV retail story sings a different tune. As per the government of India's retail sales statistics as of May 1, 2024, a total of 6,577 electric cars and SUVs in April 2024, which makes for a 22% YoY increase (April 2023: 5,412 units). Tata Motors, which sold 4,701 units in April 2024, maintains its lead with a 71.47% share in a dynamic market which is seeing rivals roll out new competitive products at regular intervals.