Tata Motors, the country’s largest automaker, is banking on the Bolt hatchback, which is being launched on Thursday, to renew its fortunes in the highly-competitive domestic market.

“We are doing a lot of things, which are traditionally different from what we were doing. For example, we started the build-up to the launch of Bolt almost three weeks before the launch,” said Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit.

The launch comes at a time when the fuel prices have been cut, repo rates reduced and the overall economy seems to be on an upward swing “There couldn’t have been a better time for the launch. However, it would be difficult for one single product to lift the prospects of any company,” said VG Ramakrishnan, Managing Director South Asia, Frost & Sullivan.

‘Bolt Force’ The Bolt, according to Ramakrishnan, takes a significant lineage from the latest version of Indica and the idea is to make it appealing to Tata’s loyal customers.

The ground-level promotions — enabling customers to touch and feel the vehicle — were done across 30 cities in the country.

“About 33,000 customers have already registered to test-drive the car,” Pareek said.

Tata Motors has also recruited a completely new force of 1,276 personnel termed ‘Bolt Force’ to handle the new customers.

“We are ensuring that enough cars at the showroom,” so as not to repeat the mistake of the Zest. When the compact sedan Zest was launched in August 2014, demand far outstripped supply.

Advanced features Bolt is being launched with a multi-mode drive (sport, economy and city), features now available only in advanced cars, and also comes with the ninth-generation anti-lock braking system (ABS). Dual airbags, infotainment system from Harman are the other features, which are available in both petrol and diesel variants.

“At present, Tata is not among the top three choices of a buyer, and this launch, coupled with the earlier Zest, will help in bringing in more customers to the showroom,” said Puneet Gupta, Associate Director, IHS Automotive.

In calendar 2014, Tata Motors’ market share (including LCVs) had fallen by about 4 per cent. “The Bolt, coupled with launch of other models, will help in reviving it,” Gupta added.

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