M&M, Tata Motors aim to bolster product range, manage chip shortage effectively next year

Riding on the success of their recent model launches, homegrown auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are looking to further strengthen their product portfolios in 2022.

Both companies are also looking at ways to handle the semiconductor shortage in a better way next year so that the impact on the production is minimal.

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"We want to be the number one player in the core SUV segment, and the success across our product portfolio including the all new Thar, XUV300, Bolero Neo and the unprecedented response we have received for XUV700 is an indication that we are on the right track," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Executive Director (Auto & Farm Sectors) Rajesh Jejurikar told PTI in an interaction.

The company has already announced the launch of 13 new products by 2027, he added.

"The next in line is the new Scorpio, which should come out next year, which will be our immediate focus," Jejurikar noted.

The automaker has seen a strong demand rebound, especially for core, authentic and differentiated products, he stated.

"While the current indications are positive, overall the PV industry next year will need to continue to manage issues related to commodity price inflation, increased freight costs and supply chain disruption," Jejurikar said.

While noting that the chip shortage is a global issue affecting multiple industries, he stated that while the situation has certainly improved over the last few months, it still remains very dynamic.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and doing the best to manage it in the short-term," Tata Motors President (Passenger Vehicle Business Unit) Shailesh Chandra stated that the company is taking definitive actions in the near term to mitigate the effects of the supply chain impediments through an agile, multi-pronged approach to address supply bottlenecks and drive its savings program much more efficiently.

"In parallel, we continue to progress our future-fit initiatives of transforming customer experience digitally and strengthening our lead in sustainable mobility," he noted.

Chandra noted that in 2021, the company kept its New Forever portfolio refreshed with the launch of the Dark range, Tiago NRG, the Safari #Gold.

"We also launched India's first sub-compact SUV - the Punch, which has been received very well. This year we recorded a decade-high sale in passenger vehicles and delivered the highest-ever quarterly sales in electric vehicles. We are sure to have a very wide appeal across consumer segments, which is also reflected in our market share (YTD FY22) of 11 per cent, up from 7.1 per cent, in the same period last year," he stated.

Leading the EV front, Tata Motors has made a tremendous progress with over 75 per cent market share and further mainstreamed the segment with the launch of the Tigor EV, in the passenger EV segment and the XPRES-T EV for the fleet segment, Chandra said.

"The focus this year has been to keep the customers engaged as we ramped up production by carefully addressing supply side challenges to meet the demand," he added.
Jejurikar noted that 2021 has been an important year for M&M.

"We had put in place a strategy earlier in the year, which was aimed at reigniting value creation and accelerating core growth for the company. We had decided that we will focus on bringing to market authentic SUVs with an unmissable presence and adventure-ready capabilities, which will help our customers 'Explore the Impossible', which is also our brand purpose," he stated.

Jejurikar noted that the company is also looking to be the leader in the LCV space.

"We will be working on consolidating our market share and we have a strong pipeline of products that we will be working on to bring to market. In last mile mobility (LMM), we are aiming to be the number one player in electric three-wheelers and our focus next year would be on increasing our sales and service network, ramp up capacity and work on forging strategic partnerships," he stated. PTI