Tata Motors Sees Newly Launched Punch Driving Monthly Sales Of 10,000 Units
The Punch, Tata Motors' newest SUV, will sell at an inaugural price of Rs 5.49 lakh.
Tata Motors Ltd. expects its newest sports utility vehicle, the Punch, to generate monthly sales of 10,000 units, going by the bookings and the interest it generated ahead of its launch.
“The Tata Nexon, which is a segment higher than the Punch is selling more than 10,000 units a month,” Shailesh Chandra, president of passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors, told BloombergQuint in an interview. The Punch is positioned in a segment with higher volumes, and is “going to attract customers from different product segments in the adjacent areas”, he said.
He said the sub four-metre Punch, which opened to sales on Monday, has the potential to be as good as Nexon, if not better.
The Punch will sell at an inaugural price of Rs 5.49 lakh, pitting it with the Renault Kiger and Nissan Magnite, both of which are priced around Rs 5.6 lakh. This also marks Tata Motors’ entry into a new segment within the SUV space as it looks to attract customers in entry and premium hatchback segments.
The market share of the overall SUV segment, according to Chandra, has nearly trebled to nearly 40% in the five years through 2021 as different cars in varied body styles and sizes enter the market.
Gaurav Vangaal, associate director at IHS Markit, however isn't too confident about the Punch driving large volumes. "The pricing could have been more aggressive if it wanted it to disrupt the market, and is a bit expensive compared to other global brands that are eyeing the same space with the likes of Nissan and Renault.”
Chip Crisis A 'Spoilsport'
Bookings “have nearly doubled over last year”, aided by the newly launched Safari and the Punch, Chandra said, adding the global shortage of semiconductor chips has acted as a “spoilsport”.
He said the situation is fast improving as the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia—a key supplier for chips—is expected to ease in the coming months.
Yet, he said the chip crisis is precarious as structural issues pertaining to capacity in the semiconductor industry remain.
CNG Push
The Mumbai-based firm, which is the market leader in the EV segment, plans to launch CNG variants of some of its products, especially the sub four-metre cars.
“We'll be targeting the compact sedan and hatch segment where we will see CNG variants coming in the coming months,” he said.
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