New Delhi: You have to keep updating yourself with the changing scenario or else you’ll fall behind, and one of the best examples of this can be Tata Motors. Tata was one of the most popular automakers in India earlier as its utility vehicles like the Safari and the Sumo helped it grab a good market share. However, due to changing markets and by selling the same products with a mild facelift, the market share of Tata reduced to single-digit numbers. A few years back Tata introduced cars like the Indica, Indigo and the Nano. The Indigo wasn’t a sub-4m sedan in the first place. It was a spacious car with a proper boot. After the 2006 Union Budget which decided to offer special benefits to cars under 4m, the compact sedan segment in the Indian market transformed.
Tata became the first automaker to reap benefits of the new law by slashing the boot of the Indigo. At 3998mm, the Indigo CS became the world’s smallest sedan then, and with Rs 50,000 slashed over the regular Indigo’s sticker price, it soon climbed the sales chart. However, the current state of the sedan isn’t inspiring – only 462 units were sold in February, 2017.
Is it still logical for Tata to keep the Indigo going and keep refreshing the black sheep? Well, it may still roll out of dealer floors, but in the long run, it will damage the image of ‘transformation’ that Tata Motors portrays these days. Back in 2011, If we would have asked you what comes to your mind about Tata as a brand, you’d have instantly said a truck maker that also manufactures some cars. Fast forward to 2017, things are changing for good and its brand is now more youth-centric with contemporary designs and high-tech features in its vehicles.
And its latest entrant, the Tata Tigor, promises to be one such vehicle which could help Tata gain good volumes. The Tigor is set to disturb the sales figures of the segment leader, the Maruti Swift DZire and the sub-4m segment as a whole. Juxtapose the Indigo CS with the Tigor and you immediately realise that, with its mediocre looks, shoddy interiors and limited features, it will only create a negative perception of Tata as a brand.
PTI