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Old 14th June 2011, 15:02   #61
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

Yep Ratan TATA is very right in the article, they need to examine the contract with FIAT to extract more out of FIAT and formally give nothing back in return.

FIAT will be surely foolish enough to give the 1.6 MJD and T-jet to TATA without establishing itself with these engines, may be 3-4 years down the line, they can think of sharing these engines.
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Old 15th June 2011, 13:05   #62
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Tata also lacks the marketing & strategic brilliance needed to make the Nano a 30,000 / month seller. I can bet you that, if the Nano were a Maruti product, it would be India's best selling car today.
You hit on the the bull's eye.

I think whether Tata's marketing dept is been run by engineers or worst PR.

Some or many or most of the engineering companies think Marketing as just Advt dept.

It is not. Its listening to customer, understanding the market, and positioning the product.

Its the encompassing activity right from listening to customers to literally dictating Engineering to do the right product which engineers can achieve for the customers.

I know, Engineers (like me) get insulted by the thought of handing over the throne to marketers. But then if one needs to fetch revenue and survive, listen to the right marketing team.

But then Marketing should work in tandem with Strategy and Engineering.

Look at Microsoft. In its heyday its a marketing company than a engineering company. However it focused solely on its marketing capability but not engineering and strategic. Now it is on the losing side of the game.

I think Tata has acquired the Engineering capability, more or less better strategy, but not so to be proud of Marketing.
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Old 15th June 2011, 16:27   #63
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

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Originally Posted by sen2009 View Post
3. To address the timely delivery issue, a new system is implemented now. If the vehicle is delivered on time, the mechanics get an incentive. This incentive amount is deducted from the final pay of all service advisers under whom the mechanic has worked during the period. This reduces the expense burden on the service center and any residual intent the service advisers might have had in doing his work in time.
I did not get as to why the incentive would be deducted from the final pay of Service Advisor?
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Old 16th June 2011, 09:33   #64
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

^ That is to reduce the expense load on the service center management and still have an incentive system. Weird it sounds - but true!
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Old 17th June 2011, 12:25   #65
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

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@ Dr.Suraj : Your dilemma on the Manza strikes a cord with me. I'm going through the similar mixed feelings. I particularly like the Elan Tyrian Wine colour, but the Aura ABS version (1 segment lower) seems to be a more economical choice. The dashboard colour on anything other than Tyrian Wine does not make the cut in my view as well.
Hello Everyone !

I Finally DID get the call from Tata Motors.

Mr. Anup Desai from the new cars launch division called up.
He said they have received a lot of similar feedback regarding the dashboard.

They ARE Launching a Limited Edition of the Manza
  • Launch 1st week of August.
  • Black and Beige Interiors and DASHBOARD
  • Full Leather Seats
  • Reverse Parking sensors included
  • Price around 20k higher than Elan
  • NO BLACK Exterior colour option - Tata has discontinued that
  • Ofcourse all existing features of Elan will be retained

I wanted to pre-book - but that was not an option yet.
He has promised to call me once the bookings open.
As also,
He has promised that we will send all this officially and formally on the company letterhead to me !

Now - THAT is what I call good 'Before' sales & support.
Replying back to a Customer.
I am definitely buying now !

Though I am still very upset that they don't have a Black colour.

Last edited by Samurai : 19th June 2011 at 17:36. Reason: Rule#8
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Old 17th June 2011, 13:19   #66
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

That is good on Tata's part to let know a willing customer of a impending launch!
BTW, Dr.Suraj, did you get to know about other launches (Nano V2, Safari, et al) from him?
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Old 17th June 2011, 16:31   #67
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

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Originally Posted by safari_lover View Post
That is good on Tata's part to let know a willing customer of a impending launch!
BTW, Dr.Suraj, did you get to know about other launches (Nano V2, Safari, et al) from him?
Sorry Safari_Lover ... as you probably have read in the letter I had sent them, I was discussing specifically for the Manza.

But this is a good idea too.

Unfortunately the number he called me from is not a 'call back' number. Its 1 of those 'only outgoing calls' customer service numbers.

But when he WILL call me back for the booking of the Manza LE - I will make it a point to ask him about Nano V2 & new Safari / Merlin.
Thanks. & will update it here.
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Old 19th June 2011, 14:22   #68
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

Amazing Update !

I would love to share this with everyone here.

I don't know if this is unprecedented or a regular procedure.
But,

Not only did Tata Motors sent me an official reply as promised on their letterhead the next day itself,
they also sent me
a Scale Model of Tata Manza !

Now this is Double Dhamaal ... coz I am a scale model collector with over 500+ scale models in my showcase - but rarely do you find 'Indian cars in diecast metal'. I have a Wagon R, Swift and Gypsy till date. But this is the 1st Tata & above all - for ONCE - I will actually own a the real thing as well too !
(ofcourse Tata did not know this - as you can see I havent written this in the letter)
Recently got a Fiat 500 as well.
So, I am very happy, excited and pleased - at this wonderful response and gesture by Tata Motors which reflects their commitment towards the customer and also their willingness to keep on improving constantly and keep progressing ahead.

Such respect for a brand cannot be bought by mere advertisement, branding or money.

I am DEFINITELY going for the Manza LE now.

Sharing some images of the Scale model for Enthusiasts :














Last edited by Samurai : 19th June 2011 at 17:34. Reason: Rule#8
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Old 19th June 2011, 22:20   #69
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

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Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj View Post
Amazing Update !
Not only did Tata Motors sent me an official reply as promised on their letterhead the next day itself, they also sent me a Scale Model of Tata Manza !
Is this real or am I dreaming???!! Hope it isnt a one-off and is indeed a new begining of sorts!!

Coming to this thread, IMO Tata's big problem is two fold.
[1] They seem to have exited the VFM in the last year or so.
[2] Most of their products are way outdated (Indica eV2; entire UV range except Aria).

More-than-cosmetic refreshes are a must.

Although I really admired the Vista, there are far better choices today for a little more cash. Tata need to not only improve the Vista, but also position it as THE VFM offering (kill eV2 if thats what it takes). Also, an automatic option pls!

The Manza was a great package until a VFM Toyota came along! Times are going to be very difficult for Manza. Why not have a 7/8 seater UV based on Manza? Or even an Estate version can help differentiate if it has a much faster time to market.

A stripped down Aria can be a good start. This car deserves better sales.
Hope sanity prevails and we get to see more Aria's OTR. Again, automatic options would help.

With Nano, they need to excite the market a bit more apart from the diesel. The goodwill it had, didnt translate into sales from the upper middle-class. How about a topless Nano?? An automatic would make a lot of sense even if it costs 50k more. How about air-bags? They really need to re-ignite this space. Else it would be a shame really.

(Offtopic: I always thought a topless Swift can take it into another orbit)
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Old 20th June 2011, 12:06   #70
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

Mr. Ratan Tata has commented that by 2020 Tata will emerge as a more mature company. I guess this has more depth than what is published in newspaper (HT Print Edition - 20 Jun 11), but the report just hints what it could mean - hybrids, better cars, etc.

Has anyone got access to HT e-edition so that the report/ article can be shared with all?
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Old 20th June 2011, 12:27   #71
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Re: Tata's lean run in passenger car sales!!

More than anything else, Tata needs a Vista refresh with better looks. The current car is a bit too long in the tooth and to make matters worse, it wasnt particularly good looking car at first place. To make Vista a hit with the masses, it needs to look good else more than half the people I know just say "Its a Tata" and move away without actually knowing what the car is really about.
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Old 12th August 2011, 18:50   #72
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TATA motors (excluding JLR) sales continue to drop

See: Tata Motors posts flat profit growth - Home - livemint.com

The TATA Nano is not selling in the anticipated volumes and sales generally falling quite badly in general.

What should TATA do?

In my opinion there are far to many faults being reported with TATA cars. Like the Nano catching fire on launch, which has been widely reported in the international press tarnishing the TATA brand. This surely calls into question both the branding and engineering of the cars.

Surely with world class R&D facilities in the UK and ownership of an established company like JLR, TATA should begin to run all R&D out of the UK where they could surely do a better job. Has a JLR produce ever caught fire frequently? If the Nano had been designed by people at JLR would they now be in this mess?

Then there is the question the branding. If TATA wants to be sucessfull at selling larger more expensive volume cars maybe it needs a less tarnished brand in India. Why not just use the western Rover brand? Surely at the very least lifting and shifting the bulk of R&D to the UK is sensible to re-establish confidence.

SAIC don't to most of the R&D for MG in China, they outsource it to the UK. Surely TATA should run things from the UK until the teams in India have developed to the point where they can compete on the world stage.
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Old 12th August 2011, 19:24   #73
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Re: TATA motors (excluding JLR) sales continue to drop

Have heard of BMWs, Porsche's catching fire. So does this mean that RD of BMW and Porsche are not good either?
It is true that, something is wrong with the Nano that its catching fire. I guess that issue has been sorted out by Tata. I hope you dont think that Tata cannot design or engineer good products. Look at the Aria for instance. Havent heard of any issues yet.
Toyota and suzuki had recalls recently. So does this mean that they aren't good either?

Tata sales have fallen for sure and this has been discussed in the monthly sales thread.
Nano has never performed as expected. Safari sales have fallen because of the soon to be launched Merlin. Only cars performing were Vista and Manza, But I guess people have more options these days.
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Old 12th August 2011, 19:37   #74
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Re: TATA motors (excluding JLR) sales continue to drop

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Have heard of BMWs, Porsche's catching fire. So does this mean that RD of BMW and Porsche are not good either?
It is true that, something is wrong with the Nano that its catching fire. I guess that issue has been sorted out by Tata. I hope you dont think that Tata cannot design or engineer good products. Look at the Aria for instance. Havent heard of any issues yet.
Toyota and suzuki had recalls recently. So does this mean that they aren't good either?

Tata sales have fallen for sure and this has been discussed in the monthly sales thread.
Nano has never performed as expected. Safari sales have fallen because of the soon to be launched Merlin. Only cars performing were Vista and Manza, But I guess people have more options these days.
But TATA motors is not progressing at the same rate as KIA, who have recruit significantly from Audi to improve their cars to the world class standards they have today. Not a single TATA product would cut it in Europe and it's not like they are (no pun intended) setting the world on fire in India.

Why not hand over R&D to JLR. Bet they could design and engineer world class cars for the world market overnight. Designing the XF or the Range Rover is much harder than something like a Nano.
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Old 12th August 2011, 20:08   #75
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Re: TATA motors (excluding JLR) sales continue to drop

Pointless thread IMHO. The only place where Tata currently lacks is 'brand perception and value'. Even today most Indians look at the brand as a Taxi/ Commercial vehicle maker. This is what is affecting sales.

If you go through the threads here as well, you will see that a lot of 'NON Tata owners' are the ones who say that the cars are bad. Most Tata Owners are pretty satisfied with what they get.

E.g: The Tata Aria Vs Toy Innova comparo in one leading auto mag, where the only downside that they 'felt' was this was overpriced because it was a TATA!!!

On these very threads I have heard horror stories about Skoda A$$, about the Hyundai vehicles (i20) having issues with steering, about the Poor plastic quality and rubber beading on VW Polo, about arrogant MASS, I could go on. Why then do we still buy these cars and even suggest these cars?

Talking about fire incidents in the Nano, they happened a couple of years ago and Tata came up with the solution. Atleast they had the courage to accept it and not blame it on something else (Hyundai i20 steering issue anyone?)

Most reviewers actually LOOK for plastic quality or shut lines when they review a Tata whereas if a Toyota Liva has the same Shut lines, they will write a nice design compromise.

I could rant on and on about this, the bottom line is it is PURE perception about this Engineering powerhouse which is LOCAL!

Last edited by torquecurve : 12th August 2011 at 20:10.
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