Consolidating its position strongly as the third largest passenger vehicle maker in India’s competitive auto market, Tata Motors ended the last month of the fiscal with a record sales of 29,654 units in March, a 422 per cent jump over the year ago period, the company said on Thursday. Albeit on a low base, the sales in March and the fourth quarter of 2021 is the highest in 9-years, it said. Owing to the Covid-19 induced nationwide lockdown that started on 23 March last year, auto companies had production and sales loss in the last week of the month.
Even as other carmakers had their share of ups and downs during the year, the Tata group flagship saw a consistent growth month-on-month. The sales march was led by introduction of completely new models and refreshes at regular intervals. A sharp focus retails, after sales and quality also helped the PV business sustain the performance.
Tata Motors had lost the No.3 position to archrival Mahindra & Mahindra a few years ago. Mahindra has now slipped No.5 behind Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Kia Motors.
For the full year that ended in March, the maker of Tigor and Safari models sold a total of 222,025 units, an increase of 69 per cent year-on-year. Though the annual sales volume is a sharp improvement from the year before, it fell short by a few units compared to FY19 when it sold 231,512 units. It’s still some distance away from its peak in FY12 when it sold 371,350 units.
“The PV industry witnessed a strong growth in Q4FY21 on a low base with robust demand for personal mobility and new launches driving demand,” said Shailesh Chandra, President, passenger vehicles business unit, at the firm. The company’s “New Forever” product range, including the new Tata Safari, continues to witness strong acceptance in the market, he said. In the EV segment, the company sold 4,219 units in FY21, a threefold increase over FY20. The company also registered its highest ever monthly and quarterly sales of 705 EVs and 1,711 EVs in March 21 and Q4 FY21. Nexon EV, the highest sold EV in the country, crossed the milestone of 4,000 units, since its launch in January 2020, said Chandra.
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