Passenger vehicle sales in India are expected to grow around 10% in 2026, extending momentum from GST rate cuts, with SUVs likely to witness accelerated demand, according to Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. MD and CEO Shailesh Chandra. The company, which on Tuesday launched the updated version of its compact SUV Punch with prices starting at Rs 5.59 lakh, is looking to outperform the industry growth this calendar year with a slew of launches lined up, besides the full-year sales impact of models like the Sierra, and petrol variants of Safari and Harrier SUVs, Chandra told PTI in an intervie...
Questions asked in this interview
10
0:00How big of a launch was this in terms of Tata and the targets you're setting for the next few years, and what are the expectations from this launch?
2:34So is it the expectation that maybe in the next 3 years it could actually surpass the growth we're seeing for the Nexon?
3:07Is it one-third across for ICE, EVs, and CNG, given that you're addressing so many new customers in new geographies?
4:16Do you think and are you comfortable that as long as buyers are coming to you, you're okay with either of them going to either of those positions?
We're coming to you live from Mumbai from the Tata Punch launch. It's a big one to say the least. 5.59 lakhs is the introductory price and a big benchmark is what Tata is setting with this launch. To talk more about what it means for the company as well as for you as consumers and investors, I'm being joined by Shailesh Chandra. He's the managing director and CEO of the company. Sir, thanks so much for joining me today. In terms of targets and what it means for Tata Motors, you sold two lakh units in the first 19 months and crossed seven lakhs now in less than four years. How big of a launch was this in terms of Tata and the targets you're setting for the next few years, and what are the expectations from this launch?
No, I think when the launch of Punch happened in October 2021, it created a new segment altogether, the subcompact SUV segment. It meant that if a customer had a budget for a hatch but aspired for an SUV, this was the answer. That's why it reached one lakh and then two lakh in 19 months. It has been a sprinter and a marathon runner, selling very fast and relevant to multiple customer segments. It sells in every corner of the country, equally popular in tier 1 and rural areas due to its confident SUV stance and ground clearance. It has been a runaway success. In just 4 years and 4 months, we are very close to selling 7 lakh units. The new Punch comes with a bolder, smarter, faster proposition with a turbocharged engine. Safety is synonymous with Tata Motors, and this car has achieved a five-star BN cap rating, the only car in this segment. With this proposition, we are confident it will hit the next peak after calendar year 2024 when it was the highest selling car.
I think we were just talking because Nexon has crossed nine lakhs in almost eight years. This one's already at seven as you mentioned in less than four years. So is it the expectation that maybe in the next 3 years it could actually surpass the growth we're seeing for the Nexon?
Next 2 years you said next 3 years to reach 1 million. I think next month we are hitting 700,000. So I hope it does much faster than that. This will definitely be the fastest 1 million, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. No car would have done this fast.
And that has been the popularity of Punch. It has hit the sweet spot of what customers want in an accessible segment. The best part is that we are standing next to the CNG model and you also have the EV. So what would be the rough split? Is it one-third across for ICE, EVs, and CNG, given that you're addressing so many new customers in new geographies?
It has been a bit of a dynamic mix, but to give you a more recent figure, it would be about 55% petrol, 35% CNG, and about 10 to 12% electric. But I believe that now with the AMT proposition, this should grow stronger.
With AMT now coming in, which people don't bring automatic in CNG in this segment, and we don't see any other player doing this. So I'm sure this will become more popular and the penetration of CNG might be higher than where we are today.
You mentioned in one of your releases in October that 70% of Punch's ICE buyers are almost first-time buyers. You also have a portfolio of Altros, Tiago, and Tigor. In 2025, Nexon and Punch have done much better than that segment. Do you think and are you comfortable that as long as buyers are coming to you, you're okay with either of them going to either of those positions?
Absolutely, we have to give a solution for every customer at different affordability points. In the last 5 years, the trend has been increasingly in favor of SUVs, and it has accelerated. Once you offer an SUV at a certain price point, there's greater gravitation towards it. But there are also people who prefer hatches. For hatches, we have Tiago for a different customer segment and Altros for a more premium hatch. So we are fine if somebody likes Altros, Tiago, or Punch; we are serving the customers.
In compact, you've been a leader with 38 to 40% share. Is it consistent that you expect that target? Because we've seen new launches by competition and premiumization. How do you see that impact?
12 more exchanges in this transcript
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Chandra, S. (2026, January 13). Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Sees Double-Digit Sales Growth In 2026, Riding On SUVs: CEO [Interview transcript]. NDTV Profit. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052258/
MLA
Shailesh Chandra. "Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Sees Double-Digit Sales Growth In 2026, Riding On SUVs: CEO." NDTV Profit, 13 Jan. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052258/.
BibTeX
@misc{chandra2026_1052258,
author = {Shailesh Chandra},
title = {Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Sees Double-Digit Sales Growth In 2026, Riding On SUVs: CEO},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, NDTV Profit. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jan},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052258/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
