[narayan]

Originally Posted by AAD

I would like to know if any heads rolled in Tata Motors following Aria fiasco? We keep asking for accountability from Public sector but what about Private sector too? In this case Tata Motors, though private sector company, is a widely held company & 2 fiascos namely Nano & Aria in close succession has eroded Shareholder wealth. Someone should be held responsible.

Possibly the top management shake up including Karl Slym's entry could be related to this among a lot of other things that were wrong with TML. Hopefully things are being set right all though I personally dont see much at a ground level. Maybe they are working inside out .
Sometimes, I also wonder what Ratan Tata was doing to stem the rot. We all know TML was close to his heart since he was also a petrol head - so just wondering whether he could not see this rot seeping in and what steps he took to stem it.

Any way more on that should figure in the "Horizonnext" thread.

Back to the Aria -

1) No doubt the car is a sales flop and for reasons well within TML's control

2) What started off as a well specced car priced at a premium to the Innova top end model now struggles to sell at a discount to the Innova base model - classic case of misplaced brand strength. This adventurism is what could have prompted Toyata to start hiking the price of the Innova.

3) While we can claim all issues are sorted out etc and how the XUV also had its share of issues, one key pt is to understand issues per car sold. Here I am quite sure the Aria's figures would be far higher.

4) The good thing going for the Aria is the fact that there are quite a few STAUNCH AND LOYAL customers who vouch for this car's capabilities, which ONLY MEANS THAT IF THE SPECIFIC VEHICLE ALLOTTED TO YOU WORKS WELL, then its a very good package. That should send a strong signal to TML on what they need to work on ( consistent product quality )

5) Sales and service experience can also be improved vastly. One just needs to go through the XUV thread to realise how pampered a typical XUV buyer is - presales and after sales. I mean why would you not go with that brand which treats you well all along. The XUV now has been able to build a strong brand recall vs the Aria which M&M can sucessfully leverage to slowly start charging a premium in all its new products .Even with the XUV, the current W4 has been launched at the same price as the original launch price of the W6.

[SmartCat]

The biggest mistake TML makes is - it holds up a BANANA in its hand and then calls it an APPLE. It shows you a PINEAPPLE and calls it a PAPPAYA.

I was really surprised when they first started marketing the Aria as a CROSSOVER, rather than a MUV. Instead of showing off the versatility of the car with its 7 seats, boot space etc, they came up with a dumb ad showing a car and SUV merging together to form an Aria.

I shouldn't have been surprised actually - the same team probably marketed the Vista as Indica, and the Manza as the Indigo. The generally public clearly didn't see these two models as NEW cars - they saw it as a variant of the XX year old Indica/Indigo.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Lets stop speculating/concluding the ARIA to be doomed or flop in its "review" thread.

My grandpa once told me about a very very opimitistic kid who falls and ends up with his face in horse poo and he gets up and says. "Gee there must be a pony around here somewhere"..

[4x4addict]

Yesterday, I test drove an Aria, Storme & XUV back to back. I felt the Aria to be the best of the lot in terms of comfort, ride & handling. It does have some silly things like no cubby holes at all between the front seats to keep mobile etc but a row of useless boxes on the roof.

I am just not an MUV person, I prefer SUV looking vehicles but if you are willing to take a coin toss on Tata and don't mind an MUV shape I suggest taking the test dive of the Aria.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Yesterday, I test drove an Aria, Storme & XUV back to back. I felt the Aria to be the best of the lot in terms of comfort, ride & handling. It does have some silly things like no cubby holes at all between the front seats to keep mobile etc but a row of useless boxes on the roof.

I am just not an MUV person, I prefer SUV looking vehicles but if you are willing to take a coin toss on Tata and don't mind an MUV shape I suggest taking the test dive of the Aria.

I feel the same about the Aria. It is indeed a great vehicle. I dont even mind the looks, infact I like a white Aria with the stock alloys, looks elegant.

The only reason why I wont recommend an Aria to anyone is simply because of it's poor market response. After all, it is a relatively expensive vehicle.

It makes a great used car buy though, if anyone is willing to take the risk.

[GrammarNazi]

I have confirmed news that TATA is going to launch a new variant of the Aria in Feb.

I understand this one comes with a 6-speed automatic gearbox sourced from Chevrolet,
the 2.2DiCOR is probably going to be tuned to a higher power - maybe ~158bhp & 400nm torque,
it may have the same mileage figures as presently even at that state of tune with an auto gear box,
also the sound system is probably from Harman Kardon.

Having sold 59 Aria's in December, they've probably cleared old stocks.

Even the Twitter account of TATA Aria was almost dormant since 27th December. Although customer complaints received on twitter are being responded to through DM's.

IMO, TATA is going to create a massive splash with this offering placing Aria as a lifestyle product, rather than an MUV opposite the Innova. With this, the space constraint of the 3rd row isn't going to be aimed at to be used by adults at all. The Aria has quite a lot to offer, high 200mm GC, low floor board - easy entry & exit, astounding power and torque figures, the improved TATA after sales service that'd probably give special attention for Aria customers.

Plans can be made, but execution is the key factor. Hope someone from here is able to give us a proper ownership report for us to see how things at TATA have turned out.

Here's to wishing TATAs & Mr.Slym all the success.

[sajanjohn]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

I have confirmed news that TATA is going to launch a new variant of the Aria in Feb.

Yes, I have been informed the same by Salesman. However, as per him the on-road price of the high end model will be around 20 Lakhs in Bangalore for the latest model. Also, he says there is not much change going to happen on the 4 * 2 models.

Apparently, TATA is planning a major marketing campaign to revive the ARIA sales this year.

I for one will be happy to see more ARIA's on the road. I just hope they get the pricing right this time.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by sajanjohn

Yes, I have been informed the same by Salesman...

OK, so old stocks are still being sold? I thought they would've sold-out the old stock with deep discounting during December offer. If yes, what kind of discounts are being offered?

[sajanjohn]

Old stocks are still up for sale. TATA is offering 1 Lakh cash discount for Top end 4*4 model. Dealers are offering additional discounts as well.

[rkg]

TATA is not much bothered to sell. In December, they were offering regular discount of 30 K + exchange bonus of 30K. 1 lakh discount on top end works out to 6-7% discount of 2013 model. this is for a car that is not at all selling well. Depreciation itself is 10% per year.


Till 2012 TATA used to offer 50K as exchange bonus. in 2013 it was reduced to 30K. Now in 2014 it is 25K exchange bonus.

It appears they are just waiting for their new model releases. not worrying much for current sales, mentally prepared for low sales

[HyperRetard]

Tata Motors will unveil a new strategy for the Aria MPV over the course of the next week. This was confirmed to CarWale on the sidelines of the unveiling of its new Revotron engine family by Ankush Arora, senior VP, commercial passenger vehicle business unit.

He added that 2013 had been a challenging year for the industry and that 2014 would continue to have the same challenging conditions for around six months but hinted once again that the period post the General Elections was expected to bring in some form of stability.


Source: CarWale

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by narayan

While we can claim all issues are sorted out etc and how the XUV also had its share of issues, one key pt is to understand issues per car sold. Here I am quite sure the Aria's figures would be far higher.

One just needs to go through the XUV thread to realise how pampered a typical XUV buyer is - presales and after sales. I mean why would you not go with that brand which treats you well all along. The XUV now has been able to build a strong brand recall vs the Aria which M&M can sucessfully leverage to slowly start charging a premium in all its new products .Even with the XUV, the current W4 has been launched at the same price as the original launch price of the W6.

Definately. The ARIA's issues aren't many, I use a Pure Everyday now for 1 yr 8 mths and done 24K kms.

Well, it's my belief that the product should be robust and competent by design and supported by availability of spares and service. That's enough for it to make a mark, pampering is done when the company is unsure of the product or to cover up glitches and not let the customer feel he has made the wrong decision. TATA needs to look into the service part, more service stations with qualified SAs. The warranty on the Nano, ARIA, Sumo Gold all speak of the manufacturer's confidence on the product. TATA does have an excellent warranty support, I can vouch for that.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

I feel the same about the Aria. It is indeed a great vehicle. I dont even mind the looks, infact I like a white Aria with the stock alloys, looks elegant.

The only reason why I wont recommend an Aria to anyone is simply because of it's poor market response. After all, it is a relatively expensive vehicle.

It makes a great used car buy though, if anyone is willing to take the risk.

As I said earlier, look and evaluate the product and match it with your needs. Factoring Market response as a decision parameter speaks of herd logic, no ? And why does it sound a good proposition as a used car ? Sticker price would be the obvious answer, that supports the fact that the product is good.

Originally Posted by rkg

TATA is not much bothered to sell.

It appears they are just waiting for their new model releases. not worrying much for current sales, mentally prepared for low sales

TATA in my opinion, does not go to any lengths to sell, their sales is a steady trickle, if not a gushing tap. Like the old adage, slow and steady wins the race. If shareholder worth were indeed alarming as one other bhp'ian has pointed out, they would have to shut shop very soon, which is not the status, obviously.

[sameervg]

Yesterday I visited TTF- OTM @ Goregaon, Mumbai. There was Tata Motors stall to market cars mainly for fleet operators, hence only Manza club class and Aria kept for display.

When I enquired about aria if any new features incorporated, the sales person told me now Aria comes with Varicor engine same as Safari Storme instead of previous Dicor engine. There are no other changes than engine and decals on sides. As almost everyone knows now they have only three models of Aria for sell - Pure, Pleasure and Pride. I could not get further details about prices and performance with new engine due to lack of time.

Surprisingly Tata did not display Aria with Varicor engine in Auto expo (or I missed while reading Tata motors auto expo thread???).
If they really want to sell Aria then they should have displayed along with their other products in Auto Expo. Also there is no news about this in media.
It is really bad that Tata make any (good) changes in their products but do not market it well.

Let’s hope better future for car like Aria.

Cheers!

[bijuiser]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I was really surprised when they first started marketing the Aria as a CROSSOVER, rather than a MUV.

I agree that TML failed in marketing ARIA as a CROSSOVER. But from my experience ARIA (on any type of Terrain) performs much better than any MUV in the price bracket. It feels much sportier and one will feel that it should be placed somewhere between an SUV and MUV.

[rkg]

It appears ARIA and Strome will come with SAC( self adjusting clutch) sourced from a reputed European manufaturer.

It was even said recent batches of strome are being shipped with it. can any one confirm it?