Tata Motors slashes prices of Indica and Manza, hikes SUV tags

Tata Motors has slashed the price of the Tata Indica range and Tata Manza to give sales a boost. Sales numbers just out for February show that sales of the Indica and Manza range have fallen drastically.

Tata Vista, Tata Manza to be up to Rs. 50,000 cheaper

To give sales a boost, Tata has reduced prices on the Indica and the Tata Manza between Rs. 29,000 and Rs. 50,000 depending on the variant. At the same time, the Union Budget called for a hike in excise duty on SUVs from 27% to 30% and so Tata has had to increase prices on its SUV and UV range. Prices of the Tata Safari, Tata Sumo and Tata Aria are being hiked by up to Rs. 35,000 with immediate effect. Also read: Tata Vista D90 first drive impression

Sales of the Tata Indica and Vista are reported together. And as we have said earlier, that is a fundamental branding problem which Tata has only now realized and dropped the Indica moniker from the Vista completely. The combined sales of the Tata Indica and Tata Vista were down nearly 46% from January, with sales dropping from 7,321 units in January to 3,981 units in February. Also see: Tata Vista first drive video at BIC

Tata’s overall market share of all vehicles in the Indian market has also dropped. It was the fourth largest manufacturer in India earlier of passenger cars, behind Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra, but with last month’s sales numbers coming in, Toyota has inched ahead of Tata to the No. 4 position. Tata now only has a 4.95% share in the Indian market.

Reducing the prices on the Vista and Manza would definitely make these cars a lot more attractive to buyers, as they have plenty of good attributes around them, let down by a poor image and inconsistent service standards. The Vista recently came out in a 90HP diesel avatar as well and is a car that could easily have been one of the best among premium hatchbacks, but is sadly failing to attract buyers. The Tata Manza is one of the most spacious entry-level sedans in the country with easily one of the most comfortable rear seats as well. However, it’s failing to find favour with private buyers.

The Tata Manza is currently priced between Rs. 5.71 lakh and Rs. 8.81 lakh ex-showroom Delhi, before this price correction. The top-end Manza is likely to be cheaper by Rs. 50,000, while the base variant would get a Rs. 30,000 price correction. The mid and top-end variants of the Vista and Manza come with Bluetooth integrated music systems, steering audio controls, power mirrors, etc, while the top-end variants get climate control, ABS, airbags and even a satellite navigation touch-screen system, making them good value for money as far as features go. Also read: Pros and cons of Tata Manza

Tata SUV prices hiked

The Tata Safari Storme and Tata Aria, unfortunately, have not been selling well and a further hike in prices is really not going to do much for them. These vehicles too are among the most spacious in the SUV and MUV category. Lifting prices by up to Rs. 35,000 would put the top-end Tata Aria 4×4 at a price tag just under Rs. 17 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. Prices on the Tata Sumo are going up by Rs. 7,500 or so for those registered as private vehicles. The total increase on Tata SUV prices is between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 35,000. Also read: Budget Impact SUV prices rise