Tata Motors aims to foster ownership pride through market consolidation and product innovation

• Tata Motors saw robust FY23 growth,with the launch of three successful models.

• Pant underscores the significance of designs, contributing to Tata Motors' second position in India.

• The brand aims to enhance market standing through strong product offerings, emphasising ownership pride.

• Targeting a younger audience, Tata Motors explores digital trends and connected TV innovations.

2023 has been a great year for Tata Motors. While  eyeing opportunities in the electric vehicle (EV) market, the brand continues to be a leading player in the passenger vehicle segment and has had three successful launches in 2023. 

According to reports, the company saw a 51.9% year-on-year growth in revenue and a 45.4% year-on-year growth in unit sales in FY 23. Vinay Pant, head of marketing at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, says that in 2024, the brand will focus on consolidating its market position while maintaining a commitment to innovation. The philosophy, he emphasises, is to leverage even the smallest opportunities to create a significant impact in the automotive market.

“The overall interest in our products has been going up. We are exiting Q3 on a high and are entering Q4 with a lot of excitement,” he states.

The brand enjoys a comfortable market share, consistently ranking between the second and fourth positions in India. Pant shares the brand's ambition to enhance its standing further by leveraging the strength of its product offerings. 

Product vs marketing

According to Pant, the brand’s secret sauce lies in the synergy between a robust product portfolio and effective marketing strategies. The automotive category demands continuous product innovation along with strong marketing efforts to get people to encourage consumer engagement.

“The kind of bookings that we have been getting translate into our reflection of the brand,” states Pant. 

While the automobile category has traditionally been catering to male boomers in India, the brand is eyeing a younger target audience with its marketing. 

For Nexon, the marketing approach involved featuring vibrant and young individuals from Gen Z and Y enjoying themselves, says Pant. “We seamlessly built in the features of the car in the ad. For Safari we showcased the SUV capabilities the car has, whereas for Harrier we again showed a younger crowd in ads.”

He states that the brand’s ‘designs’ have played a pivotal role in securing the second position in India, emerging as a crucial communication factor across various campaigns.

“We want to instill pride in owning a Tata vehicle”, he states.

He further adds, “We have to keep on building the brand and pushing it further with changing times. This is a crucial task because the brand is already very strong. We have to make sure it keeps up with the aura around it.”

Discussing the brand’s media outlook for 2024, Pant emphasises the need for a 360-degree approach, while acknowledging the increased importance of the digital sphere and CTV.

“The digital pie has increased quite a bit. Other than that the story needs to be communicated regardless of the media. We are also actively looking at CTV and the innovations it has to offer as a medium, as quite a bit of our audience is there,” he says.