Surging demand for Tata Motors’ first compact SUV sees the company hit production landmark.
16 Aug 2018 | 19440 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Eleven months after Tata Motors launched its first-ever compact SUV – the Nexon – the company continues to see surging demand for the model in the competitive Indian marketplace. Earlier today, the Ranjangaon plant rolled out the landmark 50,000th Nexon, exactly 330 days since the SUV's rollout on September 21, ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Eleven months after Tata Motors launched its first-ever compact SUV – the Nexon – the company continues to see surging demand for the model in the competitive Indian marketplace. Earlier today, the Ranjangaon plant rolled out the landmark 50,000th Nexon, exactly 330 days since the SUV's rollout on September 21, 2017.
The indications that the Nexon would be a market game-changer were always there. On November 30, 2017, which is less than two-and-half-months since launch on September 21, 2017, the 10,000th production-ready model had rolled out. Then on February 27, 2018, the 25,000th Nexon exited the Pune factory.
Since its launch last year, the Nexon saw the introduction of the AMT-equipped model in 2018 – first only in the top-spec XZA+ trim and then later in the lower-spec XMA trim. The brand also upgraded the software on the compact SUV’s infotainment system recently; it now features AppleCarPlay in addition to the previously available Android Auto.
Tata makes the con-Nexon with compact SUV market
For Tata Motors, which is aggressively driving its Turnaround 2.0 growth strategy, the Nexon has proved to be the weapon to take on the competition and give a new charge to its UV and PV sales.
In FY2018, Tata Motors was one of the quickest growing OEMs in the UV segment, selling a total of 51,891 units (+178.20%) in FY2018 (FY2017: 18,652 units). Of this, the snazzy Nexon comprised 27,747 units, which accounted for 53.47 percent of Tata Motors' total UV sales in the past fiscal.
Since its launch till end-June 2018, the Nexon has sold a total of 40,720 units (24,521 diesel and 16,199 petrol). While July sales numbers have yet to come in, this means the Nexon has sold over 10,000 units in the past 45 days.
The Nexon, Tata Motors’ first compact SUV, has been a game-changer for the company, helping it energise its fortunes in the passenger vehicle and SUV segments, along with other Tata cars. Thanks to the Nexon, Tata Motors’ market share in the UV segment has risen to 7.67 percent in the April-July 2018 period compared to 2.40 percent a year ago.
The manufacturer’s passenger vehicle sales have seen a significant upsurge recently thanks to models like the Nexon, Tiago hatchback, Tigor sedan and Hexa SUV. During the April-July 2018 period, the carmaker has moved a total of 78,379 PVs, a year-on-year growth of 38.71 percent. This robust performance has seen Tata Motors also increase its PV market share to 6.73 percent from 5.50 percent a year ago. In the UV segment, with sales of 24,086 units, Tata Motors’ market share has risen to 7.67 percent from 2.40 percent in April-July 2017.
Now, with a strong 4-star crash test rating following the recent Global NCAP tests, which makes it one of the safer and yet affordable cars in India, expect Nexon sales to see some more acceleration.
Also read: Nexon gives Tata Motors a new charge in India's booming UV market
Nexon contributes 53% to Tata Motors' UV sales in FY2018
2018 Tata Nexon AMT video review
2017 Tata Nexon vs Maruti Vitara Brezza comparison
2017 Tata Nexon review, road test