New Delhi: To maintain its position in the SUV segment, one of the business strategies for Tata Motors is to spoil the customer for choice.
Over 15% of the total domestic sales of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (PV) come from its special edition models, the first of which was introduced three years ago.
“While we cannot share specifics, special editions at regular intervals have worked well for us. From an overall passenger vehicles range perspective, we have witnessed contributions of 15% and upwards, depending on models they have been introduced in,” Rajan Amba, Vice President- Sales, Marketing and Customer Care, Tata Motors PV told ETAuto.
“These interventions certainly contribute a lot from a business perspective but more importantly from a brand perspective in terms of innovation and creating excitement in the market. We will continue to introduce new interventions,” he said.
The auto major has recently introduced the Jet Edition range for its Safari, Harrier, and Nexon. Inspired by ‘Business Jets’, it is aimed at a set of customers who want to experience luxury.
Previously, in August 2019, Tata Motors launched the Dark edition of its Harrier as a limited-edition product. In July 2021, the company expanded its dark range to Altroz, Nexon and Nexon EV and in January this year, Safari was added to the range.
In September 2021, the automaker introduced the Gold Edition for Safari. Following this, in February 2022, the company launched the Kaziranga edition for Punch, Nexon, Harrier and Safari.
Tata Motors’ most successful range of editions has been the Dark edition till date. For Harrier and Safari dark edition models, sales account for 45%-50% of its overall volumes.
In May this year, rival Hyundai Motor India worked on similar lines and introduced its best-selling model Creta with the aesthetic updates under a special ‘Knight Edition’.
It may also be noted that while Tata has introduced the special editions for most models in its SUV segment, its Punch launched in October 2021 has only witnessed the Kaziranga edition.
Amba said, “We consider certain things when we bring out a special edition, this includes the positioning of the model, how it suits the particular segment, and the aesthetic appeal of the car. So, from lifestyle and nomenclature perspective, we feel Punch sits a bit lower down the order.”
The company said the newly-introduced Jet Edition implies a segment where customers are willing to spend a certain amount of premium for that appeal. And one of the learnings from the Kaziranga edition is that Jet Edition would be more suited for Nexon, Safari and Harrier, than the Punch.
“In any case, we have some more interventions for the Punch to come, as per normal calendar,” he said.
Currently, Tata Safari is the model with most number of special editions including the Dark, Gold, Kaziranga, Jet and Adventure Persona.
For the automaker, it takes about 9 to 18 months to process from the design ideation stage to finally launching a new edition in the market.
The company which has been known to manage the semiconductor crisis quite well has an average waiting period of about 3 to 6 months for its cars across the range.
Last month, Tata Motors reported domestic sales of 47,505 units. This included 43,483 units of ICE vehicles along with 4,022 units of electric cars. With this, the maker of Nexon crossed the 4,000 sales mark for its passenger electric vehicles in India.
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The new lineup is inspired by ‘Business Jets’, for a set of customers who love opulence and want to soar high in luxury. It offers top of the line features along with an exclusive exterior and interior colour theme, the company said.
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