Mumbai: Tata Motors is giving an added thrust to exports of commercial vehicles to beat continuing slowdown in the domestic market and has set a target of more than trebling the shipments to 1.5 lakh units per year before 2020.
The country's largest automaker has been facing continuing headwinds in the domestic market both for passenger and commercial vehicle sales since the 2011-12 peak, due to a subdued economy and rising competition.
However, in the first quarter of this financial year, it recorded a volume growth of 38 percent in commercial vehicle exports at 12,891 units over a year ago period, while domestic sales fell 1 percent over the same period to about 66,000 units.
The company had shipped close to 45,000 units of trucks and buses in the year to March, 2015, which it wants to more than treble over the next three-four years.
"We have seen good traction in our exports, driven by the Prima and Ultra trucks and the premium pick-up Zenon. We had shipped out nearly 45,000 units last fiscal year.
"We want to take this to 1.5 lakh by the next three-four years," the company's executive director, commercial vehicles, Ravi Pisharody said today, without giving a target for this year.
While Tata Motors shipped 29 percent more units in April, its May shipment jumped by a whopping 50 percent and in June, it rose 35 percent, he said.
The focus will be Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa to counter slow sales growth in India, he said.
On the domestic front, Pisharody exuded optimism that tipper and truck sales will pick up after the monsoon season as the mining ban has been lifted in Goa, Karnataka and Odisha and with the increased government spending on infrastructure.
"There is some room for replacement purchase for another 6 to 12 months at least. But beyond 2016-17, we all hope that the economic recovery starts," Pisharody said.
He also attributed the 15 percent rise in medium and heavy vehicle sales last fiscal to over 1,27,000 units largely to replace an ageing fleet of trucks by owners.
The company's export markets include the neighbouring Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, but will look at increasing shipments to countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
"In many markets, there is no local commercial vehicles company. It is the Europeans we are competing with and our products appearance and specifications are comparable and we have a 10 percent price advantage," he said, adding that exports will go some way in offsetting slow domestic sales.
He said the company will launch a new version of its premium pick-up truck Zenon in Thailand in the current quarter.
He also said that the company is testing its modern version of trucks in Australia which has very tough emission norms.
"We have already test-launched automatic transmission version of our trucks there and we consider Australia to play a pivotal role in high technology-driven products," he added.
