Tata Motors to add another 100 sales outlets for PVs

Auto major Tata Motors plans to add 100 sales outlets for passenger vehicles by the end of the current fiscal as it aims to enhance its reach in the country, a senior company official said.

The company, which has around 860 sales outlets spread across the country, has already added up around 100 outlets in the current financial year till now.

"We are expanding sales network. Basically, we are getting into new locations. Idea is that per dealer sales should go up. Dealers are excited with our product range and they are willing to expand their territories by opening new outlets," Tata Motors President (Passenger Vehicles Business Unit) Mayank Pareek told PTI.

There was a plan to add 200 new sales outlets this fiscal, he added.

"Of this 100 has already been added this fiscal, and in rest of the months we will add another 100 showrooms," Pareek said.

The company used to add just 100 showrooms per financial year, and this year has been an exception, he noted.

"With new outlets, the total count would go up to around 960 showrooms by the end of 2019-20," Pareek said.

He, however, added that the company is also in the process of closing various dealerships that have been underperforming.

"These are people who are not interested in raising the bar and are unable to face the tough market situation right now," Pareek said.

When asked about the number of such dealerships facing closure, he declined to share details, terming it as a "continuous process".

Tata Motors is looking to increase its penetration in the domestic passenger vehicle segment with entry into the premium hatchback segment.

With its new model Altroz, the company aims to enhance its presence to around 60 per cent of the total passenger vehicle market.

"We now have two platforms -- Alfa and Omega. Our plan is that in each of these platforms we should have 6-7 top heads which could be small hatch, big hatch, mid hatch, minivan, MPV, small sedan, big sedan etc," Pareek said.

The company has also developed a lot of concepts, the idea being that in the next 4-5 years, it should be able to cover 90 per cent of the market, he added.

"Even with Altroz, the company would just be able to cover around 60 per cent of the market," Pareek said.

Altroz, which comes with BS-VI compliant petrol and diesel powertrains, is set for launch next month.