[Aditya]

Tata Motors has revealed that its future passenger cars will not be registered as taxis. Out of the total number of Indica hatchbacks and Indigo sedans that the company has sold, 30-35% have been registered as taxis.

Tata Motors is aiming to be one of the top three passenger car brands and the company plans to launch 2 new products every year till 2020. All the vehicles would be developed by teams in India, UK and Italy and would be global products. However, for now, the company plans to focus mainly on the domestic market.

While it has not disclosed any information on its upcoming products or which segments it plans to target, Tata Motors has revealed that it is planning to be present in every segment.

At present, the company has a dealership network of 460 outlets across the country. Over the next 3-5 years, it plans to have three times the number. Tata's recent products have been well-received in the market. The company claims that it has received 50,000 enquiries, 10,000 test drive requests and 1,500 bookings for the Bolt hatchback, which was launched earlier this month.

Source: Business Standard

[rajeev k]

Tata Motors need to do and serve differently, if they leave aside the 30 to 35% taxi sector sales, and to stay on a growth path.

Perhaps, it also means that, the Indica/Indigo range along with its variants would continue to be manufactured.

[blueeyed]

But why?
Is it just to get rid of the 'taxi' image? Then Toyota should have done it the earliest.

[ajmat]

Well Tata need to ensure high standards to achieve this. As for the Taxi segment, let Chevrolet take it over, no one else looks at them as a brand anymore

[drmohitg]

But would it be good for there books to let go off that lucrative 35% sales? Honestly I do not see any change in brand perception unless they move away from the age old name and design cues of the Indica. Rather let them continue selling those in the Taxi market. But introduce cars that do not resemble Indica. That way I appreciate Maruti as most of its hatches look different from the outside, hence giving each its own identity.

[jetti]

Can they really do this? I mean, once sold to the customer, are they allowed to restrict how its registered?

[Visran]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Tata Motors has revealed that its future passenger cars will not be registered as taxis.

Does it mean that the current model will continue to co-exist and cater to taxi industry? surely Tata's cant ignore the taxi market completely, as it brings a healthy top line for the car-maker.

Will be interesting to see the fate of Indica after the launch of Kite.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by jetti

Can they really do this? I mean, once sold to the customer, are they allowed to restrict how its registered?

The only way is to avoid fleet sales and discounting. It all depends if the new cars takes sales to another level.

Remember when the Logan came out. It had taxi written all over it but M&M refused to sell it as such. Poor sales meant the only buyers were taxi companes who bought at huge fleet discounts

[shipnil]

I had heard the same thing at the time of Indica Vista launch. It was also followed for first couple of years, I think, but then even that was sold to taxi market. Let's see how strong resolve does Tata have this time.

[kiku007]

Misplaced priorities. IT IS the CUSTOMER who decides what happens to a car after it's bought.

Fleet Owners thought Tata Cars suited them well for their priorities and bought loads of Sumos, Indicas and Indigos. Individuals thought these cars were just too crude for personal use and didn't scale up to what the competition is offering them and didn't buy them.

Now how should a company address this? By offering world class products which make Individual customers think of a Tata Car again. Not by shoooing away Fleet Owners. Funny part is, India is not like USA where Fleet purchases happen in hundreds and have low margins. Why kill a golden egg laying goose?

The Zest and Bolt are a good step in that direction. HOWEVER when will they stop bearing that same damn smiley face n silhouette?

[aditya79india]

Probably they mean that while newer models wont be pushed into the taxi segment, the current lineup would continue to serve the taxi market.

The other day I was at a local TML dealer to test drive the Bolt. Out of curiosity, enquired about the Vista still present in the display area and was told that it would continue to exist alongside the bolt as it was doing very well in fleet sales.

[SILVERWOOD]

I am not sure how a manufacturer/seller can decide on the car's future after it is bought.I have seen plenty of Vista and Manza cars registered as taxis in contrary to the news when they were launched that the will not cater to the taxi market.

Waseem.

[svsantosh]

Did Learjet's "Head of sales" get the Tata 'VP-Sales' Job?

Learjet sells jets to individuals who can afford their private planes, (of course they dont have a mass carrier), since when did tata get to decide they cant cater to mass/aam-admi market.

Do they just assume by stopping taxi sales, their brand will be valued by 'new' prospects.

Contrary to that, lesser the Tata car is seen on roads, lesser it will sell.

IMHO - a BIG % of own-Tatas (not taxis) were bought because public perceived 'if the taxi wallah can abuse it so much, it will last longer in my hands'...

[chncar]

Tata should spin off the taxi cab business into a different brand like 'Indica' or 'Indicab', with it's own dealership and service network distinct from the passenger/private segment. Their CV dealership including those who sell ACE trucks know the fleet market segment very well and can cater to the demands of taxi cab owners and drivers. Basically, not just taxi cars, but other vehicles mainly used for commercial purpose, like Sumo, Winger, etc should be part of the same dealership network.

RSA and service network in rural areas can remain common so that private users have the best of both worlds.

Tata has unmatched reach and reputation in the CV sector and should leverage that to get the best sales for their entire product range.

[wantarangerover]

Originally Posted by chncar

Tata should spin off the taxi cab business into a different brand like 'Indica' or 'Indicab', with it's own dealership and service network distinct from the passenger/private segment. Their CV dealership including those who sell ACE trucks know the fleet market segment very well and can cater to the demands of taxi cab owners and drivers. Basically, not just taxi cars, but other vehicles mainly used for commercial purpose, like Sumo, Winger, etc should be part of the same dealership network.

My thoughts exactly. They should create a brand (for ex. TCV- tata commercial vehicles) and bring all CVs under that umbrella. That way, the same platform (for ex. a Xenon) can be sold under two brands catering to two different clientele.