Well, Tata Motors has certainly upped its game because it's right now number two in the sales as far as 2025 goes, and it's taken a long time to reach this milestone. To talk us through all that and more is none other than Shailesh Chandra, who's at the helm of operations at Tata Motors. Shailesh, thank you so much for talking to us.
Um, as I said earlier, you know, getting to number two position is a big deal for Tata Motors. Of course, what's the scenario right now and is it jubilant? How are things there at Tata Motors?
You know, I'm saying that being a rank two or not is not very important for us. It is important that the products that we have in our portfolio, all of them in their respective segments, are in the top two. I think that is how we approach the market. A rank or a market share will be consequential. Definitely becoming rank two boosts the morale of the team and all, but I see more that as a consequential number. It is more important that what we target to sell in the market is what we are focused on, and that is how we approach. And it's taken a good amount of time to reach there as well.
Yeah, but I see more that as a consequential number. It is more important that what we target to sell in the market is what we are focused on, and that is how we approach. And it's taken a good amount of time to reach there as well. I mean, with good products coming out from the company, maybe the Nexon or the next generation of the Nexon, the Punch especially, what do you think was core to that philosophy of bringing out such cars to the market? It is very important that when you are envisioning the strategy of your portfolio, it is important that how you're catching the future trend. And I think that you know when we were conceiving the portfolio which has brought us from say selling about 1.5 lakh cars in 2020 to say more closer to six lakh cars, that has happened because of the spotting of the segments, of how we've visualized the trend going forward. And we had visualized that SUVs are going to grow big. In 2020 it used to be 29% share and majorly the market was more car market, which transitioned to 55%, and therefore our strategy was spot on that more SUVs are going to help. And very compelling product like Nexon, Punch, Harrier, Safari all added to making us grow to nearly four and a half times. And that has been the reason behind. So spotting the trend is very important. And going forward, the trend will be not only spotting what is going to be the right set of products that you need, but also what technologies are going to grow. So I think it is going to be the mix of both, and so far that has been working for us. So the Sierra then is what you're talking about. I mean, that's basically where the Sierra comes in. When it comes to new technologies, a new avatar of Tata Motors, how do you put it?
You know, when we conceptualized our portfolio, we said that if a first-time buyer comes and buys a Tiago, for the entire life as the customer upgrades, they should have an option, right? And therefore you'll see our portfolio more reflects continuity from a customer perspective, going up to Harrier, Safari, and maybe beyond in future. But there was a missing link, which was this absence in a segment between say Curvv and Harrier, where this was a wide space which was left open. And we said if this is to be filled, then we should bring back our iconic car which is Sierra, which for last 5 years I have seen multiple mails coming to me that why don't you launch Sierra. So there's huge, it's not just a car launch for us, it's basically an emotional moment not only for Tata Motors, I think for many, especially the Gen X who have seen this car physically when it was in the 1990s and dreamt of having this car. So one, it comes also with responsibility that when we are bringing this in its new avatar, one it is relevant for Gen X, it is resembling what original Sierra was, but at the same time it should be more relevant to the Gen Y and Gen Z also.
That is how we have conceptualized this product. You have already seen that it is focusing, it's in the midsize SUV segment but it is on the premium side of it, right? So which means that can I come with a car which is an optimum compromise to the footprint of midsize SUV but gives you a high SUV indulgence. That is the whole thought process behind it. So when you talk about spaciousness, comfort, you know the craftsmanship, use of rich material, color, fabric, whether you talk about the tech stack which is of the next level because if you remember original Sierra was ahead of its time in terms of technology also, giving power windows, AC and all. So we had to be a notch above. So this is the first ICE car which will have the 5G connectivity for example, three screen infotainment system, HUD, L2 plus ADAS. So it is full of tech stack also. So I think it will appeal to a wider audience right from Gen X to Gen Y to Gen Z, right. So that's the thought behind Sierra. While we, whatever the technologies you spoke about, I think Tata Motors has always pioneered in that, bringing into a car like Sierra and making it more having a mass appeal. How do you feel that pans out in a car like the Sierra which you say sits at a very premium position in that segment? Do you feel that maybe the base variant has more to offer than the competition?
You're absolutely right because see the whole thought process was as I said that just imagine people living in big metropolitan or even in smaller towns, there's a genuine issue of parking, there's genuine issue of maneuverability. And many of times we see customers who said I don't want to upgrade to a bigger car because my parking lot does not allow me or I don't want to handle such a big car, it gives me discomfort, but they have money to buy a higher car also. So we thought that can we give a high SUV indulgence and that's why we focused on the premiumness, spaciousness. And that is exactly what we have given in this car so that you are able to strike that right optimum to appeal to a buyer who can also go for this kind. Therefore, if you are positioning this as premium SUV, right from the base model it should mean something. So it'll definitely have more features than what typically you would see in a mid SUV segment.
Right? I won't talk much about the Sierra ICE versions right now. I want to get back to what EVs mean for Tata Motors because that's a position that you have solidified in the market. Extremely big on sales with really good offerings in that and with the Harrier EV also adding to it. The Sierra of course will add on to it, but what do you see the future like? I mean, will the adoption be similar? There have been so many studies done right now talking about people still having range anxiety though Tata Motors has been vocal about you know we make cars that will make you less anxious about the range. What do you have to say about that?
No, I think you know since we have been in the electric vehicle as the pioneer, and we have seen days where the first car had only 100 km range, then when we came with Nexon with more than 230 km range, real range I'm talking about not a certified range, it was a wow. And now 200 km is not a wow, then 350 km became a wow. Now people are expecting 500 km. So that typical intercity distance people travel in India is about 180 km, but 90% of the people do less than 400 km in a day. So if you're giving cars above 400 km, you're able to overcome range anxiety as well as the charging infra concern that people have. In high SUVs, for example Harrier EV, you are able to overcome not only the range issue or range anxiety by giving 500 km range, but also price parity. So if you are able to give price parity, if you are able to give 500 km range, if you are able to give lifetime warranty, which is another concern on battery pack, what happens to it? You have sorted out. That's why you see that in Harrier EV possibly we get daily bookings of Harrier EV more than the ICE. That's the tipping point funnel. We have not been able to achieve this in the entry side. So we have to continue to pursue hitting this sweet spot in the entry segment. And once you do that, that is the big unlock to electrification in the country. And that is something which I see, I feel I have been very optimistic always about EVs right from 2018. I see this happening at a certain point in time.
