Tata Motors outshines Ashok Leyland; becomes India’s leading Bus Brand
Published On Apr 20, 2017
Tata Motors has always been the undisputed leader in the truck department, but this time it has achieved the numero uno position in the bus category too. The company has grabbed the top spot in the domestic bus market by dethroning Ashok Leyland. The result came from the strong growth of the company across the segments.
During the fiscal year 2017, the M&H domestic bus market grew by 8 percent with 47,262 units off the shelf. Out of these, a large chunk of 76 percent is being dominated by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. In terms of medium and heavy bus segment in the last fiscal, Tata Motors sold 18,198 units as against 14,917 units in FY16, recording a steep growth of 22 percent. On the contrary, Ashok Leyland sales plunged by 10 percent registering 17,725 units in 2016-17 as compared to 19,586 units in FY16.
As per Ravi Pisharody, the Executive Director of Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, company credits its strong growth to the good pace in both private market business as well as the State Road Transport Undertakings. In the Intermediate Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (IMHCV) category, Tata sales grew by 26 percent, grabbing 7 percent of the market share. Tatas substantial sales volume came from Uttar Pradesh accounting for 1,510 vehicles, followed by Rajasthan and Haryana with total order of 870 vehicles while from Andhra Pradesh, the firm grabbed 630 vehicles order.
Coming to the private segment, besides orders from State Road Transport Undertakings, company bagged a hefty amount of orders for inter-city and CNG run buses. Both the behemoth Tatas and AL have been vying for the top spot in the bus segment for past 3 years. Between fiscal 2012-13 and 2016-17, Tata Motors annual bus sales were higher than that of Ashok Leyland, while the latter has sold more than the former in last two fiscal.
Tata Motors has been cementing its position in the Southern markets of the country which is being dominated by Ashok Leyland. For making it the stronghold, it has opened a number of dealerships, bus zones as well its 3S (Sale, Service and Spares) outlets to provide better experience to the customers.
Apart from the domestic sphere, exports also witnessed a fair boost. Tata Motors reported to have sold 5,650 buses in previous fiscal as against 5,142 units in FY16. On the flipside, rival Ashok Leyland reported fall in export department recording 4,877 units in FY17 as against 6,135 units in FY16.
