Tata Motors to double Nexon compact SUV production to cut waiting periods

Tata Motors will soon double the production of the Nexon compact SUV. The vehicle is manufactured at the Tata-Fiat joint car factory in Ranjangaon, near Pune. The production ramp up comes at a time when waiting periods of the Nexon have hit the roof.

A senior Tata executive made the following statements,

We accept that we could not ramp up Nexon production in the run-up to the launch of the vehicle and immediately after that. But those issues are getting sorted out now and we will go full speed ahead. We are getting 350 bookings for the car every day. And there is a waiting of three months on the car which we are not happy about. We will bring it down as we move forward. We are confident that the Nexon will cross 6,000 units sales (per month) mark easily.

In the last 2 months, Tata Motors has dispatched less than 6,000 units of the Nexon to dealerships around India. But demand for this recently launched compact SUV has been quite high. The company has already received more than 15,000 orders in the 6 weeks since the commencement of bookings. This mismatch between dispatches and bookings has led to waiting periods going up to as much as 14 weeks for certain variants. The minimum waiting period for the Nexon stands at 6 weeks.

Maruti has now added an extra shift at its Gujarat factory to produde the best-selling Vitara Brezza, which was also facing long waiting periods. This has reduced waiting periods drastically. Yesterday, Ford launched the facelifted EcoSport. With both these compact SUVs – key competitors of the Nexon – becoming available with minimal waiting periods, Tata Motors cannot afford to make Nexon buyers wait. In this day and age of consumerism, buyers will simply shift to more easily available products.

A lot is riding on the Nexon. If Tata is able to sell 5,000 units of the compact SUV each month, and can maintain the high sales of the Tiago (7,000-8,000 units per month), it can hold on to the 4th spot in the Indian market. Tata recently overtook Honda to become India’s 4th largest car maker. The Nexon and Tiago’s continued successes will be important for Tata to retain this position. Going forward, Tata can even challenge Mahindra for third position in India’s car market if it’s upcoming cars like the Baleno-rivaling premium hatchback and Q501 luxury SUV do well.

Via MoneyControl