Despite the domestic commercial vehicle industry witnessing one of its worst phases in recent history, the market leader Tata Motors has not scaled down its operations. On the contrary, the company has maintained that it would invest Rs. 1,500 crores in the coming financial year to develop new products and technologies. The company is also betting big on its new Prima LX, which is essentially a low-cost range that it hopes would help boost sales in the volume segments, as also on the multi-axle trucks that will be added to the Prima range of products.
The following are edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director – CVBU, Tata Motors.
What would be the tangible and intangible benefits derived out of the T1 Prima Racing Championship?
First of all, we are very happy that we could actually bring this championship to India. It (the event) was borne out of an outrageous idea over 18 months ago. But slowly we warmed up to bring this into force. Any motorsports activities would definitely be a brand building effort by the company. So it conveys a lot of modernness as well as technical capabilities of the brand. But in real world too, whether it is a car or a two-wheeler, a lot of engineering expertise, which goes into racing, gets incorporated in its line-up too. The technical capabilities of the OEM and its vendors also get enhanced with such activities. So such an event showcases our cutting-edge technologies.
Then from the standpoint of our sponsors, it is a great platform to get together with our customers. Many of our customers have never seen a GP circuit and are coming here for the first time. It is like an annual celebratory event for them. Of late, there has been a lot of interest generated in motorsports. But that was mostly restricted to cars and bikes. So we mooted the idea of popularising truck racing.
Do you expect some incremental volumes in your CV business on the back of this championship?
I don’t expect a big boost in volumes of our overall business. But I definitely think the ‘Prima’, which is a new brand as compared to other brands in our portfolio, will get a further fillip in its volumes. Moreover, we have just added the LX range in our Prima brand of trucks which should give us some additional numbers in the next fiscal. This event will further increase the visibility of the ‘Tata Prima’ brand.
As other players have also brought in products which are positioned in the ‘Prima’ range, do you see it as a challenge of sorts?
We had launched the Prima in anticipation of global players coming into India. Most of them have not come with the Prima range, but something closer to the mainstream segment. If you look at our middle-of-the-segment range like 31-tonne, 41-tonne or even 25-tonne trucks, the ‘Prima’ continues to be state-of-the-art brand. It turns out be far superior (to our peers) in terms of cabin comfort and powertrain. Our Prima LX will also be far superior than other products sold by our competitors.
In the new Prima range, we are positioning our products which is only 10 per cent higher than our regular range of products. But it is 10 per cent lower than the products sold by other players in the industry. So I think the value added with the 10 per cent higher price tag than our existing range of products would be phenomenal.
Will there be any new product that will be added to the Prima range?
Yes, we are planning to roll out the Prima multi-axle trucks for the first time. The product will be out by March next year. Multi-axle trucks comprise 60 to 70 per cent of the overall industry. It will be offered with a very attractive price tag.
It’s a known fact that you have already invested Rs. 1,000 crores in the Prima range. Would there be any fresh investments?
Apart from the development of new products and technologies, there won’t be any addition of capacity as the company has got sufficient capacity for the next five years. Apart from the multi-axle trucks, atleast 4 to 5 variants of the Ultra will be available in the next fiscal. We are thinking about spending another Rs. 1,500 crores which will be primarily deployed into into developing new products that will make the company future-ready whenever there is a revival in the economy.
So when are you rolling out your LNG-driven trucks which you have showcased at Auto Expo?
We are ready with the product, and once the infrastructure is in place we will be the first player to make a foray into it. Once an LNG terminal comes up in the western cost of India, which connects Gujarat to Kerala, we can definitely make a headway.
Are you betting big on your hybrid buses too?
Yes, we have already displayed our hybrid vehicles at the Auto Expo. And with the JnNurm coming up, we are confident of supplying a handful of such buses once the programme kicks in.
So what roadmap have you prepared to maintain your dominance in the market?
We are looking at many innovations, and racing is one of them. Our investment plans are very much on track which will help us in being the leader of technology in our products. We are already one of the top three busmakers in the world. Our products will enable us to be more global in the future. We will also continue to have a well-diversified portfolio in the future. We are expecting our Prima brand to be visible in the Middle East, ASEAN, Latin America and Africa. Our vision will be to be among the top three CV players in the world.