Nexon, Harrier SUVs help Tata to clock its best ever sales month in November

Tata Motors is breathing down on Hyundai Motor in the race to become India's second largest carmaker. In November, Tata Motors inched closer to the number two position by clocking its best ever sales performance. According to Sailesh Chandra, Managing Director at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, SUVs like the new Nexon, Harrier and Safari helped the carmaker achieve the feat last month. He said that these models, along with other Tata cars, saw robust demand during this period which helped in overall sales.

Tata Motors retailed around 53,000 vehicles in November, which is about eight per cent more than the previous month and around 30 per cent higher than November last year. In an interaction with news agency PTI, Chandra said Tata Motors saw its sales soar during the festive period that lasted 47 days. During this phase, Tata Motors saw 79,374 vehicles being registered which is 18 per cent more than November 2022.

Chandra attributed the success to its newly-launched models around the festive season. Tata Motors had introduced the new Nexon and Nexon EV facelift SUVs in September and the new Harrier and Safari facelift models in October. "We had a very strong festive season, which I would attribute mainly to the newly launched facelifted Nexon, Harrier, Safari and the iCNG range. And therefore, our VAHAN registrations, or real sale as we call it, was the highest ever in our history," he was quoted by PTI.

Chandra said that 2023 could be the best year ever for Tata Motors too in terms of sales, thanks to strong demand for its SUVs. Nexon and Punch, the two top-selling cars from Tata Motors, were also the best-selling SUVs in November. He said, “In terms of overall SUV numbers, we were at number two position last month." Maruti Suzuki currently leads the segment with models like Brezza, Fronx, Grand Vitara and Jimny. While the SUV segment offered festive cheer to the carmaker, Tata Motors also faired well in the hatchback segment with its models like Tiago and Altroz.

Also watch: 2023 Tata Harrier facelift SUV first impressions

According to Tata Motors, this could be a landmark year for the Indian auto industry. According to the Tata Motors MD, India could see overall car sales cross 40 lakh mark in a year for the first time in history. Though the festive demands are gradually decreasing, Chandra expects more than three lakh sales in the passenger vehicle segment in December as well.

Chandra said Tata Motors will focus on CNG in the small segment as takers for diesel cars have gone down. He said, "In this segment CNG becomes an important and good alternative." However, Chandra feels the SUV segment is still witnessing strong demand for diesel powertrain. Overall, Tata Motors wants to continue to offer multiple powertrain, including electric vehicles, in coming days. The carmaker is expected to launch three more electric vehicles by next year, which includes the likes of Punch EV, Harrier EV and Curvv EV.

(With inputs from PTI)