After unveiling the range of 21, a regionally oriented Tata Motors moves to a phase-wise commercial launch. Prateek Pardeshi finds out what’s in it for the customer in the Maharashtra leg.
Tata Motors addressed customer needs for high vehicle utilisation with its mega launch of 21 vehicles in the third quarter of financial year 2022 (Q3FY22). With the Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) range of vehicles, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) addressed the entire spectrum by reiterating itself as a full-range CV player. The company showcased products across the Intermediate & Light Commercial Vehicle (I&LCV), Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) segments, in both cargo and passenger variants. Through alternative drivelines in the mix, it addressed customer demand for green mobility solutions as well. To take this range to its customers pan India, the OEM has adopted a regional orientation as part of its nationwide launch. It is expected to help it maximise its return on investments and meet the customer requirements on both a national and international scale. Averred a Tata spokes head, “Our aim was to launch 21 new vehicles in 2021. With this new range, we have coupled new technology with safety,” on the sidelines of the dealership and fleet customer meet, hosted in Mumbai. The event was attended by key members of the Tata Motors Sales and Marketing team who succeeded at driving home the point.
A value offering
Taking the launch of 21 products in the year 2021 to its dealership and fleet customers in Maharashtra, the OEM displayed all six flagship products from the range of 21.. The showcase included the Tata 407 Gold CNG from the I&LCV segment flanked by the Ultra LPO model 1315/54 chassis. The M&HCV segment was represented by the Tata Signa 2818.T, Signa 4625.S, and the Signa 5530.S. Drawing attention to the construction equipment prowess, the company showcased the Tata Prima 2830.K. Beyond just making its range BSVI compliant, Tata Motors revamped several aspects to enhance the value offering for its dealership and customers in general. For example, the ‘Power of 6’ encompasses the ‘Power of Greater Profits’, ‘Power of Enhanced performance’, ‘Power of Increased Driving Comfort’, ‘Power of Greater Convenience & Connectivity’, ‘Power of Greater Value’, ‘Power of Improved Safety’ and Security’. Tata Motors’ is confident of its mobility solutions helping businesses to maximise profits, and enhance safety features for both driver and pedestrian safety. Special attention was drawn to more recent inclusions of a newly developed truck hub unit, and gear shift advisor to name a few.
Tata Motors, shared the company’s spokes head, invested over two-years that involved the pandemic at its peak, in developing the revamped range. Each of the display’s, a flagship of their respective segment also drew attention to the value-additions like the ‘Sampoorna Seva 2.0’ scheme. From longevity of spare parts to addressing the service intervals. Since the roll out of the new fleet of vehicles, Tata motors, notably, is claimed to have surpassed the one lakh sales milestones in a testimony to having addressed customer needs, on point.
New trucks new features
The new generation products are focused on safety. This is evident from provisions like the new brake liners which are claimed to be up to 40 per cent more efficient over their predecessors. Coupled with H2LS braking, it is claimed to have significantly enhanced road safety with hill-start aid more prevalent in advanced models has made its way to the fleet. In keeping with the needs of the customer for the long haul, the company has paid attention to adequate lubrication too. The hub lubrication is blamed for a slow turnaround time and has been addressed with a self lubrication hub setting a new benchmark of no greasing for an estimated five lakh kilometres. The new range of products offer the driver a flexibility to opt for a fuel economy based on load, terrain and speed. From new high power engines gaining traction in line with the improved power-to-weight ratio on offer have resulted in the hauling capabilities improving. To address the customer requirements for better operability, the trucks are now equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a safety feature acting as a stabiliser when detecting a tilt, roll, or kicking in during critical manoeuvres.
Reverse manoeuvres of such heavy machines have always been a risky affair needing manual intervention. The rigid body trucks will now be offered with reverse cameras in a bid to offer the pilot an improved field of vision. New developments in construction trucks are the elimination of Power Take-Off (PTO) given the superstructure’s new capability of drawing power directly from the engine. This is expected to significantly reduce overheads associated with the maintenance of PTO as well as aid in light-weighting. Further, the new generation Tata trucks also support engine braking wherein the valves are known to open before the charge is ignited. By doing so, the power stroke is lost and resistance is increased in turn contributing to the lower power consumption.
It is no secret that lower the TCO, higher is the fleet owner’s profitability. To enhance the connect-ability of the trucks, Tata Motors has developed a new telematics unit which allows the fleet operator to scan through critical ‘big data’ on a real time basis. This includes monitoring key performance metrics like the speed, location, driving behaviour, fuel on board and so on and so forth. To scrutinise the driving behaviour further, the data is reclassified into green, orange, and red basis the need to address these on priority. All minor to major details are relayed to the cloud.
Assuring uptime
Tata motors is banking on its widespread network of approximately 1500 plus service workshops pan India, including at the authorised dealers and service centres. The company has expanded its dealerships to 1463 nos in India, out of which 87 are from the state of Maharashtra. More than 160 plus Tata genuine parts distributor touch points across India back it up. The OEM is also offering an additional warranty on the driveline spanning over six-year or 6000 hours (whichever is earlier).
Easy finance
Tata Motors recently rolled out an easy financing option for SCVs. Under it, Tata Motors and Equitas SFB rolled out a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This collaboration is expected to make CV finance more accessible to the aspiring purchasers. Equitas SFB’s vast network across the country, which includes 861 branches and 550 plus CV consumer touchpoints will be used by Tata Motors to make these solutions available to customers. Commenting on the MoU, Rajesh Kaul, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors is known to have said that the extensive three million customer database and sustained years of expertise in the sector, Equitas SFB will help us extend beneficial offerings to CV customers across the nation.
Outlook
Tata Motors will extend its regional strategy to include more customers pan India. The feedback from dealerships and customers in this region are expected to be put to good use by the CV major. The company in Q3FY2022 sold 49,164 units of SCVs, three per cent higher over the same period last year (Q3-FY2021). It sold 15,828 I&LCVs at a 22 per cent growth rate and 22,016 units of M&HCVs at a 15 per cent growth rate. Going forward, Tata Motors expects to bring new technologies to life, such as air bags for enhanced safety. A face lift of the Tata Prima is under consideration too, concluded the spokes head.
Also read, TATA motors unveils 21 new models
