[kpbhatt]

Tata passenger cars most problematic in South Africa: JD Power

JOHANNESBURG: Indian automobile firm Tata Motors' passenger cars have been named as the worst performer among 23 same category vehicles running on South African roads in a new customer satisfaction survey released today.

In a study conducted by JD Power and Associates, Tata cars were ranked at the bottom of a list of 23 passenger vehicle brands in South Africa. The vehicles were compared on the basis of initial quality feedback given by customers.

full article here :

Tata passenger cars most problematic in South Africa: JD Power- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
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[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by kpbhatt

Tata passenger cars most problematic in South Africa: JD Power

Not too surprising!

Take into consideration the fact the we still crib about TATA quality! And owners reporting all the various problems with their new cars.

However, hope things improve with the next generation for cars (Indica X1 platform)

[snaronikar]

We can't expect more from them. They are best suited for Indian roads. The people here are used tolerating to any crap they design & sell in market and get it repaired as and when it breaks down. But this is not the case in South Africa, they have almost all the manufacturers having the facility and delivering the quality goods there.

[1100D]

After 9 years of launching a car, this does not read that good.

[speedzak]

It's not that bad.
Tata cars won't sell in foreign countries that easily if it were bugged with so many quality issues. Yes, There're quality issues when compared to other manufacturers but they're improving a lot by the time.
And don't think it's the same crap sold here is sold there. Export cars from Tata are very different from our versions and if those happened to be sold here, it would've definitely ranked far higher than where it is now. But our stupid excise/tax system doesn't allow that to be possible/viable. What a pity!

[StarScream]

not a surprise. I remember Jeremy Clarkson's review of the Safari (which arguably is one of their better vehicles!) - "nasty" he called it.

[jerish666]

Originally Posted by speedzak

It's not that bad.
Tata cars won't sell in foreign countries that easily if it were bugged with so many quality issues. Yes, There're quality issues when compared to other manufacturers but they're improving a lot by the time.
And don't think it's the same crap sold here is sold there. Export cars from Tata are very different from our versions and if those happened to be sold here, it would've definitely ranked far higher than where it is now. But our stupid excise/tax system doesn't allow that to be possible/viable. What a pity!

you right zak.excise/tax system has to change.

[narayan]

From the article it looks like this is just a survey on what problems were reported by new customers in the initial months...before just writing off TATA , i think some more information would be required..

1) what was the nature of problems reported for TATA vehicles - if these are just minor ones , i dont think its a great cause of concern...
for e.g if most owners had drive train , stability related problems - its serious...but lets say if most people just said they did not like quality of dashboard , driving experience, controls etc were not good - i dont think thats serious...

in fact even if another manufacturer had FEWER problems but had MORE reported on critical issues like engine etc , then they have a MORE SERIOUS issue than TATA

SO NATURE OF INTIAL PROBLEMS IS CRITICAL

2) what was the score of similar prized cars in that market ?

for e.g if a MERC or a BMW got the least score 142 problems per 100 vehicles im not concerned becos they better have fewer problems becos ur paying a substantially higher sum than for a TATA vehicle..

3) How were these problems dealt with by the company ???

for e.g if TATA vehicles reported 567 problems per 100 vehicle and IF TATA DEALERS managed to solve say 500 of those problems in the service , then THATS NOT BAD AT ALL...

thats where the investment a car company makes into the service network comes into play...

i mean, a HONDA can invest millions and make a GREAT CAR , but then if there a problem that a DEALER cant fix promptly thats more magnified than a TATA having 100 problems which are PROMPTLY fixed by the dealer...

without all this, the survey is just a way to BRAND TATA as a rubbish brand which is absolutely unfair - and I am not just saying this becos TATA is an INDIAN brand

[dadu]

Not surprising they are at the bottom of the JDP survey in India itself leave alone SA.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by speedzak

But our stupid excise/tax system doesn't allow that to be possible/viable. What a pity!

Zak,

Pardon my ignorance, but what has the TAX system got to do with all that?

[eflanker]

The person who posted this article and those making comments have probabaly never travelled to South Africa. I have never seen a tata car on the road, except some pickup trucks used in farms - which is about to be replaced by Xenon.


Second - Why do you Indian people have to judge their performance by what is going on in another country? If General Motors sells crap cars in India(which they do), will an American citizen disrespect GM? - NO! - because GM is a source of national pride and income for an american.


Third - TATA hardly sells "cars" in Africa as a whole! They dont even want to sell cars over there. The primary business in Africa is related to heavy duty vehicles which is doing very well - something that Africa needs for its growth (so does india). JDPower 'survey' is related to cars which is irrelavent.

Honest African Review of Tata - http://motoring.iafrica.com/bakkie/trucktest/615471.htm


http://motoring.iafrica.com/bakkie/trucktest/615471.htm



Some pics from my recent trip to Africa (thats not me, i took the pic)



Honest African Review of Tata - http://motoring.iafrica.com/bakkie/trucktest/615471.htm

[speedzak]

I'm sorry. Eflanker! But I have to disagree a bit there.
It's not right to say that TaTa hardly sells vehicles in Africa. In South africa (where I happened to spent a good part of my life and still visit frequently), they have exclusive showrooms, service centres etc.. Safari has some good fan following there and the Telcoline is a favorite amongst farmers. In comparison to major players like Toyota, Nissan, Ford etc..., the numbers maybe very low. But Tata has made it's presence felt over there.
As far as I know, this is the case in many african countries now.

[speedzak]

According to my Bro in law who just arrived from SA couple a days ago, the Tata Indica is being sold this year like hot cakes. So, if it has some bad results in JD power survey, it could improve itself a bit more next year. Tata after all is not there to pass time. They'll slowly make their presence felt for sure.
Go Tata go!

[kpbhatt]

there is an article from the above site for SA. Surprisingly it does not say anything at all about tata :

SA's best quality car is...

Fri, 07 Dec 2007
For the first time since the inception of the study in 2004, BMW ranks highest in initial quality among passenger vehicle nameplates in South Africa, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 South Africa Initial Quality Study (IQS) released on Thursday.




full article here : motoring.iafrica.com | latest news SA's best quality car is...

[directinjection]

Actually, as far as the SA truck market is concerned, Tata is doing quite well. In sales, it's among the top three brands in every segment.

Check this:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...th-africa.html