Tata Motors is Focusing on Strengthening its Position in the SUV Market

Tata Motors is focusing on strengthening its position in the SUV market by expanding its lineup with a new model called the Curvv.

On Monday, Tata Motors, based in Mumbai, launched the Curvv, a midsize SUV coupe available with both petrol and diesel engines, starting at INR 9.99 lakh. The company had already introduced the electric version of the Curvv in August. This new model will compete with popular vehicles like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and Honda Elevate, among others.

Tata Motors has launched the Curvv, a new midsize SUV coupe, as it aims to strengthen its position in the competitive SUV market. This segment is currently dominated by South Korean and Japanese carmakers. The Curvv, available with both petrol and diesel engines, starts at a price of INR 9.99 lakh.

The company had already introduced the electric version of the Curvv in August.

The Curvv will compete with popular models like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and Honda Elevate, among others.

"Curvv is being positioned in the fast-growing, mid-size SUV segment, which is roughly 16 % of the whole industry (passenger vehicle) size. If translated into numbers, it would be like 7 lakh units a year," Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle MD Shailesh Chandra told PTI in an interaction.

The segment is very competitive with various brands having a product already in the market, he noted.

Therefore, if one enters this segment so late, then it will have to think of coming up with a slightly differentiated approach, Chandra said.

"And that was the thinking behind Curvv..which comes with an SUV coupe body style. We saw that this was gaining popularity globally, especially in the premium or luxury segment," he added.   

Further, he said: "So we thought, why don't we bring this into the crowded segment as a fresh, refreshing kind of a body style."

When asked about sales expectations from the model, Chandra said: "We have come with this model, with the best in class features. It's a differentiated product in this and therefore we think it is going to perform well."

He mentioned that Tata Motors currently holds about 19% of the market share in the SUV segment and expects the new Curvv model to help increase that share further.

"We'll gain from where we are. The market leader in SUVs would be, say, 21-22 %, so it's a crowded segment. It's not that one player is holding the roost here.

"All the top 3-4 players in SUVs are around the same market share figure," Chandra said.

He also mentioned that the company plans to expand its dealer network by about 10-15% over the next year.

"We have a very aggressive plan of expanding dealerships. We will need to have an enhanced network. We will have to make them bigger, also in size. And therefore, for EVs, we have started separation of the outlets. So there will be expansion in touchpoints, not only on the sales side, but big time on the service side as well," Chandra said.

The Tata Curvv offers two petrol engine options and one diesel engine option.

"The introduction of the Curvv further enhances our SUV portfolio as a comprehensive mid-SUV product with multiple powertrains, several first-in-segment features, a brand new capable architecture - ATLAS and Level 2 ADAS," Chandra said.

In addition to the Curvv, Tata Motors also sells models like the Punch, Nexon, Harrier, and Safari in the domestic market.