With multiple new launches lined up starting festive season, We will start batting now, says P B Balaji, Group CFO, Tata Motors

Tata Motors - the country's third largest car maker will be investing close to a billion dollars in FY24 - its highest-ever annual investment to sustain the growth momentum in passenger vehicles and seize back lost share in a highly competitive commercial vehicle market.  

With the festive season around the corner, the company is getting ready for a product onslaught in the second half of FY24 to accelerate momentum in the car business, said a top company official.

According to several people in the know - Tata is set to launch close to half a dozen new models, including facelifts and new powertrain options. While its entry SUV Punch will get CNG and electric powertrain options, its Nexon, Harrier, and Safari SUV will witness mid-cycle enhancements. The Nexon EV too gets a facelift.

The company will also be bridging key gaps in its product portfolio on the commercial vehicle front.

Balaji said the investment of Rs 8,000 crore will be in products and technologies, a large part of it was showcased at the Auto Expo and the company will focus on executing the plans to sustain the growth momentum.

The company will be additionally investing Rs 30,000 crore or 3 billion pounds in the Jaguar Land Rover business as committed earlier for FY24.

In a post-Q1 earnings call, P B Balaji, Group CFO, Tata Motors told Autocar Professional, "We do expect to see continued growth. We have an exciting portfolio landing this festive season. We have not had too much action in the first half, amid strong competitive intensity. From now onwards the launch cycle is kicking in and we will be going full blast with a series of new launches. We have further ammunition to grow. We will start batting now and we are quite confident.”

Balaji did not specifically share the names of new products and the number of new launches.

The commentary comes in the face of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle growth momentum slipping to a low single-digit, having handsomely outpaced the market over the last few years.

Balaji said the company continues to hold on to a market share of 14.5% in Q1 which is quite impressive.

On the electric vehicle business, the CFO said, the company closed Q1 with its highest-ever quarterly sales of 19,000 units and that the run rate is on course to reach the 1 lakh units annual sales, promised by the chairman, but he declined to give specific volume guidance on the EV business. The launch of the new Punch EV and facelifted Nexon EV will further excite the market and help in building the momentum, the company hopes.

Aim to win back market share in CVs
The biggest drop in market share for the company has been in its commercial vehicle business, which Balaji attributes to the transition to the BS VI phase two emission norms.

The company had taken a conscious call a year back on shifting focus to retail sales or Vahan sales as opposed to pushing inventory at the dealership and chasing wholesale market share. The move helped the company in regaining its strong margins in FY23.

Going ahead, Balaji says "We are working on a few portfolio gaps. Our market share increased in June, we expect this to improve further in the coming months. We are quite seized of the task on hand and we aim to deliver competitive growth and not just profitable growth." Clearly emphasising that the market share growth is as important as profitability growth.