Tata Motors to rev up pick-up portfolio

Tata Motors will have a wider presence in the pick-up segment in the next three years, as demand for the lighter, quicker and faster commercial vehicles gathers pace in India.

The Mumbai-based company, which has a market share of 12 per cent in the pick-up segment, is working on a variety of projects. At least three pick-ups will be launched by the company in the next two-three years, said a senior official of the company.

“Some of these products will be built on the existing platform, while others will have completely new platforms,” said R Ramakrishnan, senior vice-president - commercial vehicles, product strategy and planning customer value creations.

A strengthening of its pick-up portfolio will allow Tata Motors to not just expand and diversify but restrict falling demand for its light commercial vehicle range. Pick-up trucks offer greater power, cargo carrying capacity and shorter turnaround time. They are also available in double cab versions, which can accommodate passengers besides cargo.

Typically, a pick-up can have a carrying capacity of two-3.5 tonnes, while a mini truck has a capacity of less than two tonnes. The sub-two tonne cargo segment, where Tata Motors Ace is the market leader, has seen a severe decline in volumes in recent quarters than any other segment. In the last financial year, the segment declined 21 per cent to 131,455 units, as against 166,974 units sold in 2013-14, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data.

Mahindra has two products in the pick-up category, Genio and Bolero, while Tata Motors has Xenon. Mahindra Genio generates peak power of 75 bhp and priced at Rs 5.7 lakh. Its 1.8 tonne mini truck Maxximo generates peak power of 26 bhp and is priced at Rs 3.8 lakh. The Isuzu D-Max (Single Cab) is priced at Rs 6.54 lakh and generates more power at 100 bhp.

According to SIAM data, the pick-up segment, which registered a growth of 140 per cent in the last five years, is now bigger than the mini-truck segment. With sales of around 140,000 units a year, pick-ups outsold 131,000 mini trucks such as Tata Ace, Mahindra Maxximo and Ashok Leyland Dost last year.

Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer Isuzu, which entered India with the launch of pick-ups two years ago expects the domestic pick-up demand to grow four times to 800,000 by 2023.

From the peaks of 20,000-25,000 units per month sales of the entire Ace family, which includes more than five models having multiple variants, is now reduced to 8,000 units a month due to the slowdown in demand.

Tata Motors on Thursday launched a new model Ace Mega, a one-tonne mini truck, at Rs 4.3 lakh (ex-showroom, Thane). The new model will be positioned between the existing Ace and the Super Ace Mint on pricing terms. The Ace Mega has a 800cc, two-cylinder engine, which is more powerful than the Ace.