Tata slashes prices of passenger cars, but UVs up

Tata Motors has slashed prices on its entire passenger car range except the Nano, as a result of weak sales. The Indica, Vista, Indigo and Manza will see a price cut ranging from Rs 29,000 to Rs 50,000. Tata had already slashed prices of the ageing Indica platform last year, when prices for the Indica eV2 were reduced by Rs 23,000 in October 2012.

On the other hand, Tata's UVs become more expensive. Tata Motor's decision to pass on the excise hike (from 27 to 30 percent) to the customer will see the Sumo, Safari Storme and Aria become dearer by approximately Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000. 

The car maker has suffered weak sales on the back of an insipid product mix as well as fierce competition from Maruti, Toyota, Hyundai and Ford in the budget diesel segment that Tata once owned. Tata Motors sold merely 10,613 passenger cars last month with the Nano/ Indica/ Indigo range selling 7,769 units and the Sumo/ Safari/ Aria / Venture range selling 2,844 nos. Sales of all its cars have declined alarmingly over 2012 (Full Report).