Tata Motors regained the No 3 slot in the passenger car segment in the first quarter of FY17. Its comeback was aided by new models, particularly the stylish hatchback Tiago, which was launched in April.

Also, a significant drop in the volumes of Honda Cars India, which earlier occupied the third position, helped Tata Motors. The top two brands — Maruti and Hyundai — are way ahead of Tata, with sales of 2.46 lakh units and 1 lakh units, respectively. Tata Motors, which lost its position a few years ago, was among the four companies that reported growth in car sales during the quarter, while all others including Maruti, Hyundai and Honda, reported a decline.

Tata’s total car sales stood at 28,598 units, against 26,617 units in the year-ago period, while Renault occupied the 4th position, up from the 13th, with volumes of 25,374 units (805 units), mainly aided by sales of small car Kwid.

Honda slipped to 5th position with sales of 25,064 units (41,306 units), according to numbers provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Tata’s compact segment volumes increased to 26,161 units from 21,881, mainly driven by Tiago. It is reportedly selling more than 3,000 units of the model every month.

Customer response

“The launch of Tiago and strong customer response marked the start of a new product portfolio for our cars. It is the first car to embody Tata’s new Impact Design language,” said the company.

According to an industry analyst, a favourable monsoon and the 7th Pay Commission bonanza are expected to revive the demand in the entry-level segment, which has been impacted by weak demand in rural and semi-urban areas. This will help Tata ramp up Tiago sales further.

The company is working on new sporty compact sedan Kite and SUVs such as Hexa and Nexon to further strengthen its position in the passenger vehicle segment.

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