TATA MOTORS LTD.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Concentration, dedication and application are necessary but not sufficient to achieve our

goal. These must be awarded by guidance, assistance and cooperation of person to make it

tenable. We gratefully acknowledge to MR. S.SURESH who has given us the opportunity

to learn at deep level to prepare this report.

Although we have tried to make this report error free, but if someone finds any type of

error or have suggestions for this report, please tell us and we promise to fix the problem

or will adopt good suggestions.

Akanksha Jain (10609133)

Anurag Teotia (10609139)

Ashish Kumar Singh (10609141)

Bhawna Priyadarshi (10609143)

Dhananjay Kumar (10609146)

Vaibhav Gupta (10609183)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Tata Motors is a part of the Tata and Sons Group, founded by Jamshedji Nussarwanji Tata

and J.Baker. The largest passenger automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturing

company of India Tata Motors Limited, was formerly called TELCO (TATA Engineering

and Locomotive Company).

This project is a study on COMPARING THE STANDING TATA MOTORS vis-á-vis

THE INDUSTRY & CUSTOMER PREFRENCE SURVEY based on financial

performance. The main objectives of the project are:

.

To assess the Financial performance of the automobile industry.

To highlight the major competitors of Tata Motors.

To find out the various Products offered by Tata Motors and their Prices.

To study the Distribution Network and promotional activities of the company

To conduct a survey on „consumer preference for cars and heavy duty vehicles.‟

Majority of the people feel that now a day‟s car is not only a mode of transportation but a

status symbol too. The most prevalent brand was found to be MARUTI SUZUKI. Most of the

other brands were more or less in same proportion. Most distributors preferred those

companies and brands which are high on quality and had a wider scope of customer response.

Moreover target achievement and work environment were also some of the factors that

influenced them. Most of the distributors agreed that „MARUTI SUZUKI‟ is the most

striking brand among the people because of its features like economic value, low

maintenance cost and high resale value. For vehicles which are purchased in bulk especially

in case of Defence services there are no intermediaries but for other companies the dealer can

act as a felicitator.

The Tata‟s need to show their luxury through rigorous marketing and by launching a couple

of high class luxury vehicles comparable to Audi and Mercedes (though the stock and

distribution should be limited).This will create a special class for its small cars. They need to

focus now on the marketing strategy in heavy duty vehicle section also as they did in case of

Tata Ace.

Though Tata Motors is facing tough competition with Maruti Suzuki in small car section but

still is has an edge over its competitors due to the brand value that it has developed due to its

Share in heavy vehicle market.

CONTENTS

S. NO. TOPIC

1. Company History

2. Industry Structure

3. Environment

4. Products

5. Price

6. Distribution Network

7. Promotion

8. Financial Analysis

9. Customer and Dealer Survey Analysis

10. Suggestions and Recommendations

11. Annexure

A. Sample Customer Questionnaire

B. Sample Dealer Questionnaire

C. Bibliography

1. COMPANY HISTORY

Tata Motors is a part of the Tata and Sons Group, founded by Jamshedji Nussarwanji Tata

and J.Baker. The largest passenger automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturing

company of India Tata Motors Limited, was formerly

called TELCO (TATA Engineering and Locomotive

Company), has its headquarters in Bombay, now

Mumbai, India. Established in 1945, the company later

expanded its operations to commercial vehicle sector in

1954 after forming a joint venture with Daimler-Benz AG

of Germany. Over 5.9 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian

roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. The company's

manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra),

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Dharwad (Karnataka).

After years of dominating the commercial vehicle market in

India, Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991

by launching the Tata Sierra, a multi utility vehicle. After the

launch of three more vehicles, Tata Estate (1992, a stationwagon

design based on the earlier 'TataMobile' (1989), a light

commercial vehicle), Tata Sumo (LCV, 1994) and Tata Safari

(1998, India's first sports utility vehicle). Tata launched the

Indica in 1998, the first fully indigenous passenger car of India.

DAEWOO ACQUISITION

With the success of Tata Indica, Tata Motors aimed to increase its

presence worldwide. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial

Vehicle Company of South Korea. Tata remains India's largest

heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer and Tata Daewoo is the

2nd largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in South

Korea. Tata Motors has jointly worked with Tata Daewoo to

develop trucks such as Novus and World Truck and buses namely,

GloBus and StarBus.

HISPANO CARROCERA

In 2005, sensing the huge opportunity in the fully built

bus segment, Tata Motors became acquired 21% stake in

Hispano Carrocera SA, Aragonese bus manufacturing

company giving it controlling rights of the company.

JAGUAR CARS AND LAND ROVER

After the acquisition of British Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business, which also includes the

Rover, Daimler and Lanchester brand names Tata Motors became a major player in the

international automobile market.

On 27 March 2008, Tata Motors reached an agreement with Ford to purchase their Jaguar and

Land Rover operations for US$2 billion.

JOINT VENTURES

In 2005, sensing the huge opportunity in the fully built bus

segment, Tata Motors acquired 21% stake in Hispano Carrocera

SA, Aragonese bus manufacturing company and introduced its

high end inter-city buses in the country.

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

In 2005 & 06

Tata Ace, India's first indigenously developed sub-one ton mini-

truck, was launched in May 2005.. By October 2005, LCV sales of

Tata Motors had grown by 36.6 percent to 28,537 units due to the

rising demand for Ace.

In 2007

In 2007, Tata Motors launched several concept models and future designs of existing models.

Tata Motors launched a re-designed version of Tata Xenon TL during Motor Show Bologna

which would be assembled in Thailand and Argentina. A pick-up variant of Tata Sumo was

also launched under the program 'Global Pick-Up'.

In 2008

Compressed Air Car

Motor Development International of Luxembourg has developed the

world's first prototype of a compressed air car, named OneCAT. In

2007, MDI owner Guy Negre was reported to have "the backing of

Tata".

IN 2009 AND ONWARDS

Electric Vehicles

Tata Motors unveiled the electric versions of passenger

car Tata Indica and commercial vehicle Tata Ace. Both

run on lithium batteries. The company has indicated that

the electric Indica would be launched locally in India in

about 2010, without disclosing the price. The vehicle

would be launched in Norway in 2009. On 23rd March,

2009 Tata Motors announced the commercial launch of

the Tata Nano. The Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata

Motors, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, said, “The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional

barriers.

1.1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

1.2 SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES:

At the beginning of the year 2008, the Company had 30 Subsidiary companies. During the

year the following changes have taken place:

Subsidiary Companies formed / acquired -

Telco Construction Equipment Co. Ltd. (TELCON), the Company‟s subsidiary on

April 2, 2008, completed the acquisition of Serviplem, S. A., Zaragoza, Spain

(Serviplem) by acquiring 79% of its share capital. Serviplem is in the business of

manufacturing Concrete Transit Mixers, Dry Bulk Tanks and Pumps with the brand

name 'Baryval' with about 60% market share in Spain.

On April 9, 2008, TELCON completed the acquisition of Comoplesa Lebrero, S. A.,

Zaragoza, Spain (Lebrero) by acquiring 60% of its share capital. Lebrero with whom

TELCON was associated since 2002, as its technology partners, is in the business of

manufacturing Compactors and Tandem Rollers.

During the year, the Company acquired JaguarLandRover Limited (JLR). As on

March 31, 2009, JLR had 34 subsidiary companies.

Tata Motors European Technical Centre Plc, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary

in the U.K. acquired a 71.69% shareholding in Miljobil Grenland, A S, a Norwegian

company specialising in the development and manufacture of electric vehicles.

Subsidiary Companies merged

Tata Technologies iKS was merged with INCAT Systems INC.

Consequently, the Company has 70 subsidiary companies as on March 31, 2009.

1.3 SHAREHOLDING PATTERN:

Shareholding Pattern for Ordinary Shares as on March 31st, 2010

2. AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

2.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

The automobile sector in India was severely impacted by the disruption in the Indian and

global business environment. GDP growth slowed down considerably from 9% in FY 07-08

to 6.7% in FY 08- 09. Both turnover and profitability of the automotive sector came under

tremendous pressure. Double digit inflation and high material cost in the first half of the year

leading to higher vehicle prices, higher fuel prices, unavailability of finance, higher cost of

financing and uncertainty in the overall economic conditions impacted demand to a great

extent. Both the commercial and passenger domestic vehicles industry came under

tremendous pressure as a result of these market conditions. The commercial vehicle industry

which had already started showing signs of slowing down last year, declined by 17.4%

compared to the 7.6% growth in FY 07-08. The passenger vehicle industry, which had

showed a growth of 11.3% in the previous fiscal, went into negative zone with a decline of

0.5%. In such trying times, the Company‟s sales of 506,421 vehicles were 13.5% lower than

last year volumes. Even though domestic commercial vehicles volumes declined by 15.2%,

the Company consolidated its leadership position in the domestic market by introducing new

products to complement its existing product portfolio. The passenger vehicles volumes

declined by 4.8% in the domestic market, primarily due to the phasing in of the new Indica

Vista in the second half of the year and sluggishness of the UV segment. The Company‟s

exports declined by 38.6% during the year, due to the meltdown in major international

markets and the consequent swings in foreign exchange rates.

The industry performance in the domestic market during FY08-09 and the Company‟s share

is given below:-

2.2 INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENTS

Commercial Vehicles

The domestic commercial vehicle industry witnessed a decline of 17.4% compared to the

over 7.6% growth achieved in the last fiscal. Industry volumes were impacted by the steep

increase in consumer interest rates and vehicle prices, unavailability of finance for majority of

the segments and a considerable decline in industrial activity compared to the last year.

The domestic industry performance during FY 2008-09 and the Company‟s share is tabulated

below:-

The Company‟s commercial vehicle sales in the domestic and international markets, at

291,993 vehicles, were 17.2% lower than the previous year. The Company reported domestic

sales of 265,373 vehicles, which was a decline of 15.2% over the previous year. The

Company‟s market share in the M & HCV category improved from 60.4% to 61.9%. The

LCV segment also faced pressure as a result of the slowdown and the unavailability of

finance for a large part of the year.

Passenger Vehicles

The falling growth rate of the industry for the last two years slipped into negative territory

marginally this year. The tightening liquidity and the drastic increase in interest rates, coupled

with high fuel prices for a major part of the year suppressed demand to a considerable extent.

The overall slowdown in the economy also accentuated the negative sentiments with the

consumers. Despite the new launches and heavy promotion spends by players in the industry,

the industry declined by 0.5% during the year.

The Industry performance and the Company‟s performance in the segments that it operates in,

is tabulated below:-

In a challenging year for the industry, the Company recorded sales of 207,512 vehicles

(including Fiat cars) in the domestic and overseas markets. The Company continued to be

amongst the top three players in the Indian passenger vehicle market with a market share of

13.1% (only Tata cars). The Company share has been rising since the launch of the Indica

Vista in August 2008, exiting in March 2009 with a market share of 14.5%. The small car

segment which contributes to over 60% of the market and has been the major driver of

growth in the Indian market in the recent past it witnessed a marginal growth of 0.7% during

the year despite new launches. Volumes of Indica, at 111,254 declined by 18% due to the

phasing out of the old Indica in the first half and the introduction of the second generation

Indica Vista in the second half. Despite this, it remained amongst the top 3 selling cars in the

country.

3. ENVIRONMENT

Overview of the Players in the Automobile Industry

The Indian auto industry is highly competitive with a number of global and Indian auto

companies present.

Key Players in the Indian auto industry – Passenger Cars and CVs

The largest Player in the Indian industry. Plans to launch

new and exciting products in the Indian markets, including

the „100,000‟ cars.

TOYOTA has vision of capturing 10% share of Indian

passenger car market by 2010.

The third largest passenger car manufacture in India and

one of the largest exporters of vehicles. Has establishes

India as one of its manufacturing bases in the world, is

planning to invest heavily to boost exports from India.

Maruti Suzuki‟s JV in India and the largest passenger car

manufacturer in India.

One of the leading players in the Indian premium cars

segment.

One of the largest players in the UV/ MUV segment

One of the leading players in the Indian premium cars

segment. Plans to enter the small car segment by re-

launching the matiz.

The 2nd largest CV manufacturer in India.

Other global players who are in India have plans for India includes – VOLVO, DAIMLER

CHRYSLER, BMW and NISSAN MOTORS.

4. PRODUCTS

a) PASSENGER CARS AND UTILITY VEHICLES

Tata Sumo Grande

Tata Safari

Tata Indica Vista

Tata Indica

Tata Indigo

Tata Winger

Tata Nano

Jaguar XF

Land Rover‟s Range Rover

b) COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Tata 1616 Starbus

Tata Marcopolo Buses

Tata Ace

Tata 407 Ex and Ex2

Tata 709 Ex

Tata 809 Ex and Ex2

c) CONCEPT VEHICLES

2000 Aria Roadstar

2001 Aria Coupe

2006 Tata Cliffrider

2007 Tata Elegante

2009 Tata Prima

d) MILITARY VEHICLES

Tata LSV (Light Specialist Vehicle)

Tata 2 Stetcher Ambulance

Tata 407 Troop Carrier

Tata LPTA 709E

Tata SD 1015 TC

Tata LPTA 1615 TC

Tata LPTA 1615 T

5. PRICE

Various factors are used to determine a price of a car. These factors include market condition

(it can‟t be too low or too high with the prices of same vehicle from competitors, it has to be

at par), cost incurred, dealers profit etc. Giving discount every month and special promotion

for certain type of vehicle also one of the strong strategy use by Tata Motors. Discount can be

made from Company‟s profit or from dealer‟s profit at certain range. The profit margin varies

from 4-5 % depending upon the value of a car.

NAME OF CAR FUEL TYPE NO. OF

VARIANTS

PRICE RANGE

(IN RUPEES)

ON ROAD

SUMO VICTA DIESEL 15 6,27,416-6,48,090

SUMO GRANDE DIESEL 9 6,76,010-7,44,193

MANZA SAFIRE PETROL 8 5,53,769-6,80,824

MANZA

QUADRAJET

DIESEL 8 6,52,779-7,74,387

INDIGO CS PETROL 2 4,55,567-4,78,128

DIESEL 2 5,45,364-5,70,789

SAFARI DIESEL 6 8,98,802-14,00,560

VISTA SAFIRE PETROL 6 3,98,035-4,55,932

VISTA QUADRAJET DIESEL 6 4,55,932-5,53,349

6. DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

The channel of distribution, physical location, and dealership method of distribution and sales

is generally adopted. The distribution of vehicle must be in a very systematic way, from the

plant to dealership and to end user. This is not only in India itself but also to the world-wide

dealership.

Channels of Distribution:

In case of vehicles, dealership method of distribution and sales is generally adopted. Tata

Motors have also adopted dealership method of distribution of its products. The dealers

purchase products from the firm at a negotiated price. The MRP is fixed by the firm at the

head office and the dealer gets a profit within these prices. As the firm deals in commercial

and passenger vehicles, there may be a single or distinct dealerships to market its commercial

and passenger vehicles in a town. However, if there is a single dealership appointed, then the

commercial and passenger vehicles are managed under Commercial Vehicles Dept. and

Passenger Vehicles Dept. respectively.

Tata Motors have contracts with the Government of India and it supplies buses and passenger

vehicles, in some cases, to the Govt. Sometimes, bulk quantities of vehicles are ordered by a

Govt. Dept. or a private company. The sales, distribution and billing of these are looked after

by the company itself.

Physical Distribution:

The commercial vehicles are manufactured at Jamshedpur, Lucknow and Pantnagar whereas

the passenger vehicles are manufactured at Pune plant. From the plant, the finished product is

transported to the dealerships. The nation-wide dealership, sales, services and spare parts

network comprises over 2,000 touch points. The dealerships are strategically located in the

target and potential markets to ensure efficient and timely availability of its products in the

market. Dealer‟s Network Worldwide:

Distribution network is spread amongst:

1. South- Asian countries

2. European countries

3. South African countries

7. PROMOTION

a. Personal Selling :

There is minimal personal selling involved. The Sales Officers at the dealerships collect

prospective customer databases and perform cold calling to attract customers.

b. Advertising :

Advertising is a form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sale of a

product or service. Tata Motors is responsible for the advertising of its products. The dealer

does play any role in the advertising. The various media used for advertising are T.V.,

Newspapers, Magazines, Hoardings, and Internet etc. The dealer conducts point-of-purchase

displays to advertise the products. The advertisements done by the firm help the dealer to

capitalize on the market. Some of the ads are –

INDICA –V2 XETA

This ad of INDICA became

quiet popular. The ad theme

was humorous, showing four

girls out on a drive in an indica.

The ad indicated that if anyone

misses the key factors like

power, efficiency & economy

that new v2 xeta provides then

he is got to be dumb.

SUMO GRANDE

The ad showcase SUMO GRANDE as SUV with a soul of a family car, the factors like

interiors third row seating, power, low turning radius and also showcasing it as perfect for

city as well as mountains.

TATA INDICA VISTA

The ad starts with a car being driven itself in a hilly area. The ad showcases the idea of

changing the drive, style and life i.e. changing everything.

TATA INDIGO MANZA- Indulge. In Style

TATA representing MANZA as a high class symbol with innovations where a man finds

everything incomplete in perfect conditions & finally feel complete in his MANZA. TATA

termed it as a next generation car which makes everything else seem less than complete.

TATA ACE

A mini truck focusing on lower

middle class & representing TATA

ACE a vehicle which can make the

dreams come true & calling it as

mini elephant in terms of power.

TATA PRIMA

Showcasing new TATA PRIMA as a world class truck which is shaped by technology around

the world. Italian cabin design, immense power and load bearing ability. It is the truck which

meets international standards.

TATA MOTORS FOR INDIAN ARMY

TATA motors links itself with

Indian army, TATA MOTORS show

its tremendous ability to work in war

like situations where every step is

critical. The commitment towards

entire range of mobility,

survivability, protection, stealth for

armed forces. TATA MOTORS-

legacy which is tried in peace and

tested in wars.

c. Sales Promotion :

The purpose of sales promotion is to supplement and coordinate advertising and personal

selling. Sales promotions are designed to persuade consumers to purchase immediately by

providing special incentives such as cash rebates, prizes, extra product, or gifts.

The firm conducts intensive sales promotion during festivals such as festive discounts during

Diwali.

d. Public Relations:

Public Relations is a management function that creates, develops, and carries out policies and

programs to influence public opinion or public reaction about an idea, a product, or an

organization. The firm takes serious measures to maintain good public relations.

The firm follows business ethics to ensure that the customer is satisfied and receives good

service whenever and wherever he desires

8. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Tata Motor‟s consolidated Net Revenue for FY10 was Rs 925 bn up by 30% Y-o-Y.

Facilitated by improvement in global economic environment, low interest rates, and lower

commodity prices the consolidated. The Company posted a profit after tax of Rs. 25 bn,

compared with Rs -(25) bn in FY09 Company‟s Net Automotive debt stood at Rs 18.8 bn as

on March‟10 compared to Rs 23.75 bn as on March‟09. Consequently, Company‟s debt to

equity reduced to 2.05 from 4.0. Tata Motor‟s standalone Net Revenue for FY10 was Rs 355

bn up by 39% Y-o-Y basis.

After a sharp decline in sales volume in 2008-09, the commercial Vehicle industry recovered

with a strong sales growth in 2009-10. The auto industry recovered substantially in FY10 and

grew robustly at 40.2% over previous year. Robust growth was seen in third and fourth

quarter as sales volumes grew at 97.11% and 84.39% y-o-y respectively.

Commercial Vehicle Segment

Facilitated by recovery in economic growth, availability of finance, easing interest rates and

increased freight availability CV domestic sales volumes increased substantially by 40.9% to

373,842 in FY10 from 265,373 in FY09. Company Performance in Domestic CV Segment:

CV Domestic Sales Volume:

CV Market Shares:

Passenger Vehicle Segment

Domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 259,588 (including 24,884 Fiat vehicles) during

FY10; up by 25.1% y-o-y. Market share of Tata Motors vehicles stood at 12.4% in FY10.

PV Domestic Sales Volumes:

PV Market Share (including fiat volumes):

The passenger vehicle industry registered a substantial volume growth of 24.8% during

FY10, driven mainly by increased consumer confidence, new product launches, availability

of finance, and low interest rates.

Production

Category JUN-10 JUN-09 JUN-08 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09

M& HCV 15228 14984 13901 44760 26831 40237

LCV 21704 14209 12159 58455 48617 40500

UTILITY 3050 4805 3836 8931 8142 13444

CARS 23791 14245 14681 67286 28314 40596

TOTAL 63773 48243 44577 179432 111904 134777

Sales

A. For the month

Domestic Exports Total

Category

JUN-

10

JUN-

09

JUN-

08

JUN-

10

JUN-

09

JUN-

08

JUN-

10

JUN-

09

JUN-

08

M&

HCV 15139 9949 12845 1261 978 966 16400 9471 12519

LCV 19652 16256 13952 2371 781 1885 22023 15003 14087

UTILITY 3602 3307 3710 37 35 109 3639 2560 5071

CARS 24209 13732 13307 1459 361 471 25668 13162 14662

TOTAL 62602 43244 43814 5128 2155 3431 67730 40196 46339

B. For the year

Domestic Exports Total

Category

2010-

11

2009-

10

2008-

09

2010-

11

2009-

10

2008-

09

2010-

11

2009-

10

2008-

09

M&

HCV 42156 26626 35835 3142 2339 2534 45298 28965 38369

LCV 55073 45430 35645 6566 1928 5152 61639 47358 40797

UTILITY 9650 8065 12366 145 52 197 9795 8117 12563

CARS 62589 37772 38728 2390 901 1276 64979 38673 40004

TOTAL 169468 117893 122574 12243 5220 9159 181711 123113 131733

Company Performance in International Business-

Export Sales Volume:

Profitability ratios

Leverage ratios

Leverage ratios

Mar ' 09 Mar ' 08 Mar ' 07 Mar ' 06 Mar ' 05

Long term debt / Equity 0.49 0.49 0.31 0.41 0.59

Total debt/equity 1.06

0.80 0.58 0.53 0.60

Owners fund as % of total source 48.44

55.43 63.05 65.23 62.22

Fixed assets turnover ratio 1.88

2.69 3.08 2.55 2.62

Liquidity ratios

Liquidity ratios

Mar ' 09 Mar ' 08 Mar ' 07 Mar ' 06 Mar ' 05

Current ratio 0.84

0.89 1.24 1.24 0.99

Current ratio 0.43

0.64 0.85 1.07 0.98

Quick ratio 0.58

0.66 0.91 0.96 0.76

Inventory turnover ratio 13.47

14.44 13.26 12.63 14.06

Profitability ratios

Mar ' 09 Mar ' 08 Mar ' 07 Mar ' 06 Mar ' 05

Operating margin (%) 6.71 10.53 9.70 10.68 11.62

Gross profit margin (%) 3.30 8.26 7.50 8.09 9.01

Net profit margin (%) 3.77 6.96 6.94 7.35 7.02

9. CUSTOMER AND DEALER SURVEY ANALYSIS

Customer survey was done to gauze the minds of the people so that we can get the idea of

how people decide which brand and which variant to go for. Also the idea was to generate the

notion of forces working to influence the minds of people in cars and heavy vehicles sector.

We approached 30 customers and 10 distributors in Delhi and NCR region. Although it was a

small sample survey as compared to the size of the industry and brand but it was an arduous

effort as the time period was limited

The analysis of genesis of forces that control the vehicle market was done in following

manner:

9.1 Findings from Consumer’s Survey

1. Most preferred brand :

The most prevalent brand was found to be MARUTI SUZUKI. Most of the other brands were

more or less in same proportion. This proved that, still Maruti has got its major share when it

comes to small cars. In our sample many customers are loyalty to Maruti.

2. People view car as:

Majority of the people feel that now a day‟s car is not only a mode of transportation but a

status symbol too.

QUESTIONNAIRE

PREPARATION

Customer survey

analysis

Dealer survey

analysis

Small

cars

Heavy

vehicles Advertisements Different

aspects of small

and heavy

vehicle industry

0

5

10

15

20

necessity social status both

Impact: This implication has a direct effect on „NANO‟ the common man‟s car. Though the

car is quite cheap and affordable to middle class but its major enemy is status symbol. The

standard of the middle class segment has risen to such an extent that while buying a car they

can afford to pay a little more for a vehicle in case it provides status symbol to them.

3. Preferences for Basic, Comfort and Safety features:

Most of the factors preferred by people were luxury oriented. It gives us the idea that people

want to have as much comfort as possible while travelling. Majority of the people even feel

that safety features like Anti breaking system (ABS), Child lock etc. are the very important.

4. Factors considered while purchasing a Heavy duty vehicle:

We further extended our analysis to heavy vehicles and found that brand name had a very

strong hold over the people as compared to features and resale value.

5. Advertisement:

We then diverted our analysis to advertisement section and found that the most effective

medium for automobile advertisement was T.V., with Maruti Suzuki having the most

appealing advertisement. A very interesting fact came against our notion that a majority of

respondents feel that firms should even advertise for heavy duty vehicles as it does for cars.

0 5 10 15 20 25

yes

no

Chart: People‟s view regarding advertisement of heavy duty vehicles.

6. Native Company concept:

Finally we tried to dive into the mindset of people about the preference for native country

product. As most of the people replied that the concept of native company preference does

not come in their mind, the concept of ‘hamara‟ and ‘our’ is immaterial in four wheeler

market.

9.2 Finding’s from Dealer Survey:

As the dealers are an important link between the companies so we tried to analyze the market

from a distributor point of view also. For this we went to 10 dealers of various companies and

took their view. The analysis follows

1. Preference for brand: Most distributors preferred those companies and brands which are

high on quality and had a wider scope of customer response. Moreover target achievement

and work environment were also some of the factors that influenced them.

2. Most striking brand: Most of the distributors agreed that „MARUTI SUZUKI‟ is the most

striking brand among the people because of its features like economic value, low maintenance

cost and high resale value.

3. Promotion of brand: Generally two to three campaigns a month are done by dealer‟s to

promote the brand.

4. Financial schemes for sales: The distributors usually provide banking solutions of SBI

and HDFC like banks. The firm conducts intensive sales promotion during festivals such as

festive discounts during Diwali.

5. Feedback from customers: Feedback was mainly collected on time to time basis like-

After sales 48 hrs

Invoicing 5 days

At the time of service Depends on company

Call for ensuring Customer Satisfaction Almost 3 months

6. Selection of brand by people: People usually select brand either with the help of

advertisements or references. Thus it shows the significance of goodwill in this arena.

7. Need of advertisement for heavy duty vehicles: The distributors were also of the opinion

that even the heavy duty vehicles need advertisement.

8. Role of distributor in brand selection: Distributors do help customers in deciding the

brand as the customers generally ask about a lot of information regarding performance, power

mileage etc.

9. Criteria for obtaining the dealership: The dealers also need to fulfil some criteria for

obtaining the dealership like location, budget, area of sales etc.

10. Direct supply to the companies: For vehicles which are purchased in bulk especially in

case of Defence services there are no intermediaries but for other companies the dealer can

act as a felicitator.

10. SUGGESTIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS

All the data collected from customer base and dealer base were subjected to rigorous analysis

and it was found that TATA motors share a huge market capture when we consider heavy

duty vehicles like trucks and buses .The analysis suggested though was done for Delhi and

NCR region but is still applicable to the total heavy vehicle market in India.

Though TATA motors is big player in heavy vehicle market, it still needs some innovation

work in small car section. Some of the related problems and suggestions are

1) Tata motors has a huge no. of competitors in small car segment. Through the launch

of TATA NANO, it embarked one of the greatest innovations of the century in

automobile sector by producing the cheapest car but still some issues related to it are

to be tackled.

Though being cheaper than Maruti 800 it didn‟t affected the sales of Maruti

800, its nearest competitor, although the production of MARUTI 800 has been

put down.

TATA NANO can‟t be targeted for a huge market share of rural India as when

it comes to bad roads and frequent long drives people prefer Maruti 800 which

is its nearest rival.

What Tata motors can do in the above case is that they should go on

with TATA NANO mainly targeting the metropolitans and big cities.

Once they have acquired a major market share, they should launch its

modified variant with higher price comparable to but cheaper than

Maruti 800 having strength and long distance travelling capacity for

sub urban and rural market.

2) Another problem that lies with Tata motors small car segment is the common notion

“Tata vehicles as a carrier not as a luxury item”. Tata motors in India are mainly

famous for their carriers and this tag gets attached even with small luxury cars which

affect their sales.

The Tata‟s need to show their luxury through rigorous marketing and

by launching a couple of high class luxury vehicles comparable to Audi

and Mercedes (though the stock and distribution should be

limited).This will create a special class for its small cars.

3) In heavy vehicles section though Tata‟s enjoy most of its market share with its trucks

and buses. But the launches of its new variants are only known when they hit on

roads. e.g. Tata‟s 6-wheeler Trucks were replaced by 6 wheeler LP trucks gradually

and then later on with 10-wheeler LP trucks. Now a days they are being replaced by

Tata‟s Haiver but the change is very slow. In case any competitor launches its variant

of same type it can affect Tata‟s sales.

They need to focus now on the marketing strategy in heavy duty

vehicle section also as they did in case of Tata Ace.

11. ANNEXURES

A. Sample Customer Questionnaire

Name of the customer: ________________________________

Q.1. Which kind of car do you own?

Q.2. Which automobile manufacturer‟s vehicle do you own?

Q.3. Please tell us the details of your car.

Q.4. According to you a car is?

Q.5. Please tell us your preferences that you would like to have in a car or a heavy duty

vehicle.

Q.6. What factors do you look for while purchasing a heavy duty vehicle or a car?

Q.7. According to you, should firms advertise for heavy duty vehicles as it does for cars?

Q.8. Which medium of advertising automobiles is the most effective?

Q.9. According to you, which automobile company‟s ads are the most appealing?

Q.10. While buying a vehicle does the concept of native company preference comes to

your mind?

B. Sample Dealer Questionnaire

Dealer: M/S __________________________________

Q.1. What preference do you look for before applying for dealership?

Q.2. Which brand do you think is the most striking among the people and why?

Q.3. How often do you promote your brand?

Q.4. What are the financial schemes that you provide for sales?

Q.5. How do you collect feedback from customer?

Q.6. What factors people look upto while purchasing a particular brand?

Q.7. Do the heavy duty vehicles need advertisement? If yes, what measures do you take?

Q.8. Do the people consult the distributor before deciding a brand?

Q.9. Do the dealers need to fulfil some criteria before of obtaining the dealership?

Q.10. Do you supply vehicles to the industries directly?

C. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Tatamotors.com

2. Tatacarsworldwide.com

3. Yahoofinance.com

4. Valuereseacrhonline.com

5. http://www.capitaline.com

6. http://www.tatamotors.com/our_world/press_releases.php?ID=458&action=Pull

7. http://tatamotors.com/our_world/press_releases.php?ID=431&action=Pull

8. http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tata-motors-c104509.html

9. http://auto.indiamart.com/cars/tata-indigo/tata-indigo-review.html

10. http://ir.tatamotors.com/for_shareholders/sp.php#ordinary

11. http://money.rediff.com/companies/tata-motors-ltd/10510008/share-holding

12. http://money.rediff.com/companies/tata-motors-ltd/10510008/cash-flow

13. htttp://www.moneycontrol/com/tata-group/tatamotors

14. http://www.yahoofinance.com/tatamotors

15. http://www.carwale.com/research/cars/tata