Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles is positioning its new Aeris compact sedan as an alternative for aspirational buyers in high and premium hatchback segment.
The company believes that customers traditionally move from a hatchback to a premium hatchback before eventually moving to a sedan or SUV as their budgets allow.
With the Aeris, Tata Motors wants to reduce those steps and allow customers to move directly to an aspirational sedan.
“What if a customer looking at a hatchback today didn't have to make two or three upgrades before bringing home the sedan they aspired to,” Managing Director Shailesh Chandra said.
"It is almost a no brainer solution for premium hatch buyers as well," Chandra added.
The Aeris replaces Tata Tigor in the personal commute segment. The management attributed 65% of the demand in the entry sedan segment to personal commute, while the remaining 35% comes from fleet. The Tigor Xpress range will continue to service the fleet segment, with Tata stating the Aeris will not be sold to fleet buyers.
The sedan market today sells around 3.5 lakh units annually with 80-85% of the demand coming from the entry sedan segment, which includes the Maruti Suzuk Dzire and the Honda Amaze, apart from the new Aeris.
The company said the Aeris, priced between Rs 5.29-9.74 lakh, combines the practicality traditionally associated with sedans with a more premium design, technology and comfort, while retaining an accessible proposition.
Compared to other entry sedans and premium hatchbacks, the Aeris is priced aggressively. For instance, the new Maruti Suzuki Baleno is priced in the range of Rs 5.99-9.99 lakh while the Hyundai i20 is in the range of Rs 5.99-10.63 lakh. In the sedan space, the Dzire is priced between Rs 6.30-9.54 lakh.
“With Aeris, we are making it an aspirational one," he said while describing the positioning of the car's CNG version.
Tata Motors described the cars pricing as “accessibility value proposition”, saying it wanted to bring the aspiration of owning a sedan within reach earlier than customers might expect.
Meanwhile, the company is also trying to give the Aeris a premium image among compact sedans. Martin Uhlarik, Chief Design Officer at Tata Motors, said the objective was to make the car approachable and accessible while giving it a level of prestige and premiumness.
“Even if it is a compact sedan, it has to have all the attributes, all the values that people associate with a sedan, which means a certain premiumness, a certain attention, and a cultivated taste,” Uhlarik said. He said the design was intended to make the car feel “one class bigger than it actually is”.