Tata Motors plans to launch new products in UV segment

Tata Motors is plotting a fight back in the utility vehicle segment against home-grown rival Mahindra, with plans to launch a slew of products, which could even incorporate technology from JLR.

The company, which is a distant second to Mahindra & Mahindra in the utility vehicle segment, is introducing a stripped-down version of its Aria model priced at Rs 995,000.

"We definitely have lost a bit of ground but we will get back with new products. There are lots of projects in the pipeline and we want to be a significant player in the UV segment," Tata Motors Head, Utility Vehicle Product Group (passenger car business unit), Ashesh Dhar told reporters.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the of 3rd International Bus and Utility Show 2013.

While he did not divulge the new products in the pipeline, Dhar said the company has introduced a base variant of the multi-purpose vehicle Aria starting with the South Indian market and model will now be available at a price range of Rs 995,000 to Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million).

When asked if Tata Motors could use technology from JLR for UV products in the mass market, he said: "We have a lot of leverage from them (JLR). We will use it (technology)

but whether it would be in a straightway form or in a different form, or whether it would be a mass market or a high end model would depend on the products."

He said at present the sub-Rs 12 lakh segment in the UV category is the fastest growing and the company will also have its focus there.

Dhar said Tata Motors enjoys around 12 per cent of the utility vehicles segment in India with monthly sales averaging around 5,000 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra, on the other hand, sells 25,000 units of utility vehicles a month on an average.

"We are definitely looking to increase our UV sales as we want to be a significant player in the segment. Our Sumo range is doing about 3,000 units a month while the Safari Storme has clocked 2,000 units last month," he added.

In the April to January period this fiscal, Dhar said the company's UV sales have grown by around 10 per cent to around 38,000 units.

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