Tata Motors recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of Tata Ace that had created a new Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) category when first launched in 2005 and is now the most successful SCV brand.
The Tata Ace, an engineering marvel, was launched, when Tata Motors recognized a latent customer need to create a completely new market segment to pioneer the concept of mini-truck in India. It has since remained among the most preferred choices of Indian entrepreneurs and small businesses, leading with an 85 per cent market share. Highlighting the success of this path-breaking innovation, the Tata Ace family has surpassed the 1.5 million sales mark in these ten years. Today, one in every five commercial vehicle sold in India, is from the Tata Ace Family.
Speaking at the celebration ceremony, Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said “Completion of ten successful years of Ace is truly a remarkable milestone. Tata Ace has been a revolutionary product and is a result of our deep understanding of the market and the consumer. While we feel this is only the beginning of a long successful journey, we are proud that the Ace family has been the preferred choice for last mile transportation, selling over 1.5 million vehicles, globally, since inception and has been responsible for generating entrepreneurship and employment in many parts of India. Making this journey special are over 1 million customers, who have trusted the brand and have grown in the businesses. We would like to extend our gratitude to all our customers for trusting the brand.”
The Ace family has helped uplift many lives and has been a strong contributor to the growth of many entrepreneurs and small scale businesses in India. The Ace family of vehicles has been constantly evolving, strategically identifying and filling gaps in the market ahead of its time. The platform has thus far produced about 12 offerings, based on engine type, engine power and body configurations. The Ace family today comprises of the Ace HT, the Ace EX, the Ace CNG, the Ace High deck, the Ace DICOR NA, the Ace DICOR turbo, the Ace Zip and the latest addition to family was the Super Ace Mint. On the last mile passenger transportation side, the Ace platform has brought in Magic HT, the Magic CNG, the Magic IRIS and the Magic IRIS CNG.
The Ace is the most versatile small commercial vehicle in the industry, catering to varied demands and providing customized solutions for various applications. The vehicle’s affordable pricing and low maintenance cost throughout the life-cycle has fostered self-employed entrepreneurs and help small businesses grow across urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
As the Tata Ace family’s renown spread, Tata Motors went on to make deep inroads across the country. At present, about 1,600 showrooms, sell the Ace variants. Production capacity too has grown commensurately. The Tata Ace was launched in 2004-05 with a capacity of 30,000 units per year in Pune. The dedicated plant in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) today has a capacity of 5,00,000 units per year. To meet the growing demand, in 2012, Tata Motors commenced production of the Tata ACE Zip at the new plant in Dharwad.
As the country today celebrates “Make in India”, Tata Motors is proud of how Tata Ace has successfully traversed global boundaries since its first export in 2006. The Tata Ace family has crossed over 1,00,000 sales mark with a foot print spanning 28 countries across South Asia, Africa and the ASEAN regions.
The Ace family will continue to develop and offer innovative solutions based on the three core vectors of DesigNext, PerformanceNext and FuelNext to cater to the evolving needs of customers.
With the largest and strong growing network in place, a continuous slew of upgrades, new launches and specific marketing interventions, Tata Motors continues to be the dominant player and is making strides in the Small Commercial Vehicle Industry.
