Comments
In a bid to take on competition in the compact car segment, Tata Motors has priced its hatchback Bolt at least Rs 30,000 lower than its rivals.
The move is likely to trigger a price war in the most-competitive compact car segment, which accounts for about 40 per cent of total passenger car sales.
The country’s largest automaker On Thursday launched the much-awaited Bolt, its second new product after Nano, at price points starting from Rs 4.65 lakh. The prices of diesel variants start from Rs 5.75 lakh (both ex-showroom Mumbai).
“We expect Bolt to strengthen our presence in the hatchback market, one of the most popular segments for the Indian customers,” Mayank Pareek, President Passenger Vehicles Business Unit at Tata Motors, said launching the car.
These are introductory prices and are likely to be increased later, Pareek said, adding, the vehicles would be manufactured at its Pimpri plant near Pune.
The Bolt is being positioned against Maruti Suzuki India’s Swift and Hyundai’s i10 among others.
“The pricing is aggressive as it comes at a time when automakers have hiked prices on back of the excise duty reversal. The prices have been kept more or less with the customer expectations,” said Puneet Gupta, associate director at IHS Automotive.
“Even later, I don’t think the prices would be hiked substantially,” Gupta added.
Tata Motors is banking on new launches including Bolt to regain its market share (including LCVs) that fell by about 4 per cent in calendar year 2014. Last year, it launched a sub-compact sedan, the first car in five years after Nano.
Bolt has already received 50,000 registrations, while about 10,000 people have listed for test drives. It will be available for sale across 450 Tata Motors sales outlets from Thursday.
Tata Motors is also ensuring that enough cars are available at the showroom to avoid any supply constraint, which had happened when Zest was launched.
“Whatever be the demand, we have ensured that there are enough cars at the showroom,” Pareek added.
The company has launched a new service programme for Bolt that offers warranty of three years or one lakh km (whichever is earlier). It is also offering a free roadside assistance for 3 years.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.