Overview of Tata Motors Market Position in India

Tata Motors aka “India’s pride” is the 3rd largest carmaker in India right after Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. But this is just for their passenger cars division because they are the largest if we take their commercial cars and military production into consideration too. In fact, Tata Motors has the largest operations in the Indian car market. So, if you’re wondering what the market position of a brand this big is in its home country, don’t worry, because I’ll explain everything. Let’s dive in.

Tata Motors Ranks 3rd but it’s still at the top

So, Tata Motors is currently the 3rd largest carmaker in India with a market share of 14% as of early 2024. The brand’s market presence increased significantly after its change in strategies post-COVID-19 pandemic. The new strategy had an increased focus on safety, design and high performance of the vehicles which regained the customer’s interest because let’s be honest Tata was highly known for workhorses and high-end SUVs mostly like the Sumo and Safari, so with the arrival of newer, more muscular and high-performing cars like the Nexon, Harrier and Altroz, people also started looking their way.

The brand has also shown a solid performance in the passenger vehicle segment with a 15% Year-on-year growth in Q4 FY24, with 1,55,651 units sold. However, their commercial vehicle segment saw a loss of -6% YoY growth. Furthermore, it also achieved a 29% growth in EV sales during Q4 FY2024.

Speaking of which, Tata Motors as of March 2024 is the top performer in India’s EV market with a whopping 72% share. This is partly because of their successful launch of Electric models like the Nexon EV and Tigor EV, both of which are affordable and robust.

Tata Motors is also currently the most valuable automobile company in India ending Maruti’s 7-year streak in January 2024, although Mahindra surpassed them to become the 2nd-most valuable car brand in June 2024. However, Tata Motors remains to have the largest operating automobile manufacturer in the country.

Apart from this Tata Motors has some good strategies to maintain their top position. Alongside proposal and heartbreak surprises on Feb 13, a day before Valentine’s Day, Tata Motors also gave us a surprise and it might as well be an attempt to cause a panic attack. For the 1st time ever, an Indian carmaker has reduced prices for its EV lineup in India. Popular models like the electric Nexon and Tiago get a price slash of Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 70K respectively. This is a strategy that US EV giant Tesla also uses, but this move was actually Tata’s response to MG’s attempt to undercut Tata on their home ground by announcing price cuts on their cars.

Although very obvious, Tata Motors’ move to counter MG head-on shows the power the brand has as the largest EV maker on its home turf, although the products themselves are value for money.

Tata’s Growth in India

Tata truly has grown from a small player in the passenger segment to a top, rivalling the likes of Maruti and Hyundai. From a small 4.6% in 2016, the brand saw some heavy sales thanks to the launch of its new lineup, which included the Harrier, Nexon, Tiago, and Tigor, making them more favourable among customers. (Real thanks should be given to their Impact Design 2.0 Design Philosophy, read more about it here).

Overall, Tata continues to grow and provide tough competition to other brands with their updated portfolio famous for their affordability and safety alongside coming up with some unique and beautifully designed models like the Tata Curvv and Sierra (Yeah, the OG is making a comeback). The main audience of Tata Motors continues to be the mid-size SUV segment and it’s trying to acquire a larger share of this segment. Although the brand faced a slight hiccup with the loss in the Commercial vehicle segment, the brand remains optimistic about future growth keeping in mind India’s ongoing infra developments.

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