Aiming for 15% rise in bus market share in TN
Tata Motors Ltd. (TML), India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, opened BusZone, the company’s first exclusive bus range dealership, at Arumbakkam near Chennai on October 23. It is a fully air-conditioned facility strategically located in the city centre with a dedicated bus display area and staffed by professional sales and service teams, offering dedicated bus services.
BusZone will soon provide comprehensive sales, service and spares support to Tata Motors bus customers in areas like Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore, with suitable facilities in each of these areas.
Addressing the media on the occasion, Mr. Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, said that in the last 10-12 years the commercial vehicle segment in the country witnessed a dramatic change. As a market leader, Tata Motors has started offering fully-built buses through its Ace Magic, which has proved a runaway success for the group.
He said that, among commercial vehicles, the bus segment leads the technology, as well reflected in the usage of radial tyres, retarders and ABS, which were all introduced first in bus transport. Since the segment needs dedicated dealership and the vehicles are sold through cordial and sustained relationship rather than through test drives as in the case of passenger cars, Tata Motors always believed in putting additional focus on the bus segment. It was only after three years of vigorous market study that the company decided to come out with this first-ever industry initiative of BusZone dealership.
He disclosed that as its loyal customer, Tata Motors has appointed Mr. Rajinder Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Janta Group of Companies, popularly known as Punjab Lion, as its first-ever BusZone dealer in the country. What contributed most for his appointment is his wealth of knowledge, wide experience and the high respect he commanded among road transport industry in the country.
Mr. Pisharody expressed his high optimism on setting up of the first BusZone dealership in Chennai and confident of achieving a 15 per cent additional bus market share in Tamil Nadu alone. He was also excited about the launch of the company’s new initiative coinciding with the National Customer Care Day on October 23.
The company has plans to open BusZone dealerships in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, West Bengal, etc., he added.
In his address, Mr. Rajinder Singh said that bus customers are not generally happy with the inadequate attention being paid to meeting their specific requirements. Hence Tata Motors’ new initiative of setting up an exclusive bus dealership would virtually bring in a new era in commercial vehicle dealership in the country.
Mr. Singh really deserves the first BusZone dealership since he has been closely associated with the Tata Motors family for long and is running a huge fleet of Tata trucks under the name of Janta Roadways. The new world-class Tata Motors’ BusZone dealership he has set up in Chennai has several state-of-the-art modern facilities, including, the mobile service van, for offering timely service to bus operators.
Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Mr. Mukund Krishnamurthy, Regional Manager, South, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said that till 2004 his company used to sell only chassis, but later started supplying fully-built buses of global standard. The Bus Body Code that has come into force envisages a lot of new regulations related to ABS, seat belt control, etc. Further, while the bus industry has now been mostly driven by JNNURM, the proposed 100 smart cities will give a further boost to its growth. Also, the accelerated expansion of rural areas is attracting a major share of business for small buses. With all this, the current year is expected to witness a big expansion of the small bus segment. There has also been a lot of consolidation among vehicle manufacturers, encouraging vendors to make more investments. With the setting up of Tata Motors BusZone, the dealers can now focus on customers and endeavour to meet their expectations in full.
Referring to the company’s sales and service network, Mr. Mukund said Tata Motors has the strongest and largest network covering over 1,800 plus sales and service dealers in the country. The company has plans to open more dealerships in the next six to 12 months, besides setting up mega dealership facilities in key areas on par with car dealerships.
A pat for Chennai
Mr. Ravi Pisharody, who inaugurated the first-ever Bus Zone showroom in the country, had all praise for Chennai for its being the most progressive among Indian cities for bus transportation. Tamil Nadu is always home for many leading bus operators providing excellent transportation.
Mr. Pisharody also delivered keys of 27 buses of different models to bus operators, assuring them full company support for their endeavours.
TML retains market leadership
Mr. R.T. Wasan, who recently took over as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd., said the company always maintained an overall leadership in the commercial vehicle segment and one of the leading global players. With the help of two world-class bus body facilities set up with the support of the Marcobolo plant in Dharwar and ACGL unit in Goa, the company offers completely built buses of global standard to its customers. It has its sustained focus on delivering quality buses both to private bus operators and State Transport Undertakings (STUs).
Though not in the premium luxury bus segment, the vehicles produced and delivered by the company come with extra comfort and safety for passengers. Even its Prima truck has emerged a trend-setter in the trucking industry, virtually revolutionising road transport. Today, the Prima truck is considered the best in its class, Mr. Wasan asserted.