Tata Motors CV Exports Rise 35% as Indonesia, Africa Offset West Asia Disruption

Tata Motors is broadening its commercial vehicle export base as the West Asia crisis disrupts supplies to the Middle East, with Indonesia emerging as a key volume driver and demand growing across SAARC and sub-Saharan Africa.

The wider geographic spread helped the company increase commercial vehicle exports by 35 percent year on year in the first quarter of FY27, despite a two-month pause in supplies to the Middle East.

The crisis affected the availability of ships and constrained Tata Motors’ ability to serve the region. The company has since begun gradually resuming supplies, although management expects the Middle East to remain challenging for some time.

“It is very difficult to find ships and to reach the material there. We strongly believe that demand should be back once the shipping lines are open,” Girish Wagh, managing director and CEO, Tata Motors, said during the company’s Q1 FY27 media call.

Tata Motors anticipated the disruption in the Middle East and sought to develop demand across other international markets. This broader demand pool has allowed the company to sustain export growth while supplies to the region remain constrained.

“It is not coming from one country alone, but from a broad-based demand pool that we have created in some of the other markets, knowing that the Middle East is going to be a challenge for some time,” Wagh said.

Indonesia is central to the company’s export growth. Tata Motors has secured an order for 70,000 Yodha pickups and Ultra T.7 trucks, its largest export order to date.

Shipments accelerated in July, with Tata Motors dispatching more than 3,000 additional vehicles to Indonesia by the end of the month. The company said deliveries were progressing at a rate aligned with the requirements of the Indonesian authorities.

“Indonesia certainly has done well, no doubt about it. But there are quite a few other geographies which have also done well,” Wagh said.

Alongside Indonesia, Tata Motors recorded improved performance in some SAARC and sub-Saharan African markets during the quarter, indicating that the increase in exports was not driven by a single country.

“We have seen a few markets in SAARC and sub-Saharan Africa do well for us,” Wagh said.

The company has not disclosed the contribution of individual markets to its exports or indicated when Middle East supplies will normalise fully.

Tata Motors’ total commercial vehicle sales rose 27 percent year on year to 108,488 units in Q1 FY27.