Tata Motors is targeting a bigger pie of the C segment sedan market in the country’s automotive sector where it currently commands over 25 per cent share.

 

The current share is estimated at about 4,200 cars a month, plus that of the venture partner Fiat India, of the market of 18,000 to 20,000 sold by all carmakers in the country.

 

The Senior Vice-President Tata Motors, Mr S. Krishnan, said, “The launch of Tata Manza petrol and diesel variants has received enthusiastic response within a short period. We expect this to boost our sales numbers by next quarter.”

 

Speaking to newspersons after the launch of Manza cars in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Krishnan said that the first-half of the current fiscal has shown very positive vehicle sales trend. The last two months of August and September witnessed significant jump in sales. The new models would add to this numbers.

 

The trends in the market point towards a continued buoyancy in the automotive industry. The launch of nearly five models between Tata Motors and its joint venture partner Fiat, in the last 12 months has created excitement among new car buyers.

 

With a rationalised portfolio of Tata Indigo range of sedans and the addition of the Manza variants, the company currently offers cars in the C segment ranging from Rs 3.73 lakh to Rs 6.75 lakh ex-showroom.

 

Within sedans wherever there are diesel offerings, the trend points towards increasing preference for diesel cars, which are both fuel efficient and are much more refined than the earlier generation diesel cars, Mr Krishnan said.

 

Asked about recent concerns of some customers with regard to the Nano cars, Mr Krishnan said that issues relating to wiring have been sorted out. The issue was blown out of proportion

The two recent incidents of parked Tata Nano cars catching fire have created panic among the prospective buyers resulting in cancellation of bookings. “While 12-15% of our bookings were earlier cancelled because of the long waiting period, there has been higher number of queries, and the rate of cancellation has gone up to 20% following the fire incidents were reported last week,” an executive with one of Tata Motors’ biggest dealerships in Delhi said on condition of anonymity.

 

"We have received bookings for 2,000 vehicles. But by now, nearly 400 people have cancelled their bookings. A few are even asking for re-sale of the vehicles," he added.

 

However, Tata Motors has denied any cancellations post the fire incidents. “We have not received any cancellation requests post the incidents that have been reported on Tata Nano,” a Tata Motors’ spokesperson said, adding that there had been some cancellations by those whose deliveries were slated for late in 2010 or by retainees, whose deliveries are scheduled after completion of the allottees.

 

Tata Motors had in July announced the names of 1,00,000 people who would get the car till March 2011. While the exact numbers are not available, considering a cancellation rate of 15-20%, bookings for nearly 15,000--20,000 vehicles have already been cancelled within less than four months since the first car hit the Indian roads.

 

"There is panic and some degree of dissatisfaction at the customers’ end who are yet to get their cars,” a dealer in Chandigarh said. This panic comes despite the assurance from Tata Motors that it would undertake pre-emptive checks on 7,500 Nanos that have been delivered till date.  According to analysts, while this will affect the future rate of bookings for Nano, it is also helping dealers to make money by facilitating resale of the vehicle to other customers.

Nissan’s small car for India, scheduled to roll out in May 2010, will have a small proportion of Chinese parts, which include the headlamp and engine control unit.

 

In addition, some components for the diesel engine and manual transmission will be imported from Europe.

 

“Apart from this, most of the parts will be sourced locally. This will also include those for the petrol powertrain,” top company sources told Business Line on the sidelines of a press meet to discuss Nissan’s global V-platform strategy.

 

 China is familiar territory for Nissan contributing to over half a million of its vehicle sales.  And even while India has a quality-driven supplier base, China has had a head-start and is particularly competent in the powertrain department.

 

 This will come in handy for the new platform strategy where India, China and Thailand have been identified among the five manufacturing hubs.  There will be interchange of components from one region to another and Nissan officials believe it is only a matter of time before India takes the lead here

 

Till that time, China could still play a more pivotal role largely because of the scale Nissan has achieved in the country over the years. Cars produced in India will be exported to Europe, Africa and West Asia. The fourth hub for the global platform, according to Mr Vincent Cobee, Corporate Vice-President and Program Director, could be “one of the Americas” while the fifth country of manufacture has not been finalised yet. Indications are that Brazil could occupy the fourth slot and Russia the final one given the growing role of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. Nissan is looking at one million units from these five countries though no timeframe has been set as yet.

 

 Compact option

 

There will be three cars produced on this platform and India, like Thailand (whose rollout is scheduled in March 2010), will be the launch pad for the compact option.

 

 Indications are that the sedan will be produced in China first, when manufacturing begins in July 2010, though Nissan officials declined to comment on the subject.

 

 The sedan version has been planned for India in 2011, while the third car is expected to be a lot sportier.  Nissan has paid a lot of focus on commonality of components between the three cars to keep costs in check.

 

 For instance, the common platform parts on an average are nearly 85 per cent, while in the case of body parts, this is closer to 50 per cent. Mr Noritaka Tsuru, popularly referred to as the ‘Godfather’ of the new platform, said that Nissan had set itself the goal of making the world’s best compact car.

 

The focus was on optimising costs while keeping weight to the minimum and delivering maximum value in terms of mileage and speed. Internal slogans such as “Simple is smart, smart is cool” and “use your brains, think differently” became the guiding principles.

 

 Smart technology

 

The net result was new a three-cylinder car which was fast, stable and had achieved a breakthrough in noise and vibration.  Costs were trimmed thanks to use of “smart technology” and in markets such as India, the car was actually engineered to suit the raw material available, as was the case with sheet metal.

 

 Mr Tsuyoshi Kobayashi, Chief Vehicle Engineer, said that on an average, 40 per cent reduction had been achieved in the number of parts which had also pulled down costs as a result.  Over 100 engineers from India, China and Thailand had been trained for the new platform strategy

Most Japs call them fast and furious. The Germans call them brand shapers. The English, on the other hand, prefer to discreetly describe them as gentleman’s toys. And the Italians, quite simply, call them sports cars.

But they have one disadvantage, a shortcoming, which sticks out like a sore thumb here. That is perhaps the reason why Stuttgart-based automotive manufacturer of luxury high performance automobiles, Porsche hurried to launch its Panamera here. The Panamera has four doors instead of two, an aberration for a sports car. But Indians love four doors.

Rod Wallace, MD at Porsche India, says he is planning to sell 50 Panameras here in the next 12 months. Of the nearly 200 cars that Porsche will manage to roll off its showroom, the four-door sports utility vehicle, Cayenne will form the biggest chunk.

The new Panamera is slated to come in next with the all-important numbers. But what happened to legends such as the Boxster, the 911 and the Cayman? Are Ferrari and Aston Martin listening? Top industry sources say these blue-blooded automobile brands are planning to drive in by next year.

Says Wallace: "India is a family-oriented nation. A person buying a two-door car might be looked upon as being self indulgent and selfish. So, the Panamera, which can be called your everyday sports car, will rake in the numbers for us. We have already sold half of our proposed stock for the year. I feel we have underestimated the demand." The Panamera retails for more than Rs 1.5 crore. In contrast, the in-your-face sporty convertible Boxster retails for roughly Rs 62 lakh.

Then just a few days ago, another German carmaker BMW launched its delicious Rs 60-lakh Z4, a two-door roadster here. Says a BMW spokesperson, "We are not looking for volumes with such products. It’s a niche segment. We call such products brand shapers."