We will focus on retail growth & realisation improvements going forward: Tata Motors’ ED

The demand outlook for CVs remains positive overall. There is strong infrastructure push from the government as well as an increase in activity in most sectors of the economy. The headwinds of high-interest rates, fuel prices, and inflation are expected to remain stable and within range. 

We experienced some vehicle availability challenges in the first half of the June 2023 quarter due to our large transition to BS6 Phase 2. Resolving it fast, we delivered a sequentially improved performance in the later part of the quarter. We have now built momentum, and intend to accelerate sales as the year progresses. We will continue to focus on both retail and realisation by actively driving our demand-pull strategy to win Vahan’s market share. We have also introduced several industry firsts — vehicles with the highest load-carrying capacity in their segment, optimal body styles for better ergonomics, longer decks, with multiple power trains — to address the existing white spaces and offer maximum choice to customers. We are reiterating product and brand superiority in micro-segments and markets, smartly using digital technologies and platforms for sharper targeting, better lead generation, and faster conversions. Scaling up supply of EV vehicles towards public mobility and last-mile deliveries will add a new dimension to the growing sales of our commercial vehicles. We will claim our rightful share of the market

The SCV segment in India is undergoing a rapid transformation, where customers are now associating their identity with the asset they use for long hours every day. The growth outlook for the SCV and pick-up market in FY24 is robust, backed by sustained consumer demand. We are well poised to capture this growth, with our multi-pronged approach of offering the widest choice of vehicles, lowest TCO, easy and affordable maintenance, and high reliability. We already offer the widest portfolio of more than 15 variants across our three lead brands — Ace, Intra, and Yodha — at multiple payload nodes and fuel types. We are seeing a trend of higher payload requirements for the vehicles. Since the successful launch of the Intra V50 and Yodha 2.0 in September 2022, we are continuously assessing the market to identify and fill whitespaces. Intra V20, India’s first bi-fuel pick-up, has been a big success across multiple geographies, and we will continue to offer more solutions in the bi-fuel category.

We have already commenced the delivery of Ace EV across major metro cities of the country. Ace EV users and potential customers are recognising the significantly lower cost of operations (cost per km) and increased comfort in the cabin with noiseless operations. To support its growing demand, we are actively expanding Ace EV’s enabling ecosystem — customer service facilities (more than 40 EV support centres already deployed across the country), charging infrastructure, and financing options. To further boost the volumes of Ace EV, we are planning to offer a holistic solution to several other customer segments and applications — courier and parcel, FMCG, and white goods, among others. We have also introduced a flatbed option variant of Ace EV for customisation of the container body. In parallel, we have completed financing arrangements with leading financiers. Ace EV comes with one year of a complete maintenance package, with options for extension of up to five years.

We have a total order book of more than 2,600 e-buses — 1,500 units from Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), 921 units from Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and 200 from Jammu Smart City Ltd, (for Jammu and Srinagar). We deployed about 180 e-buses as part of the CESL 1st tender in Q1 of this fiscal, while there are more than 600 electric buses in operational mode. We are now actively setting up the necessary charging, maintenance and supporting infrastructure in each location. Conscientious corporates and private enterprises seeking to achieve their net-zero goals are another customer segment we are actively exploring. We are engaged with them and have made vital breakthroughs. We were the first e-bus manufacturer in India to supply to a retail customer — Endress+Hauser Flowtec (India) Pvt Ltd. We have also supplied e-buses to Celebi Airport Service India Pvt Ltd, Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd, and Ion Exchange India Ltd.

The discussion to establish a payment security mechanism has now gained momentum. The government has positively responded to our request, and is already working on evaluating solutions, which upon implementation, will make the entire Gross Cost Contract model bankable. With this in place, we will eagerly look forward to participating in upcoming tenders and making public transport free of emissions and noise.