Tata Motors comes up with a larger pickup to regain lost share

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker, has revamped its range of pickup trucks, to capitalise on the growing trend of owners upgrading to higher tonnage vehicles and regain the market share lost to Mahindra & Mahindra.

The company expects its allnew Intra small commercial vehicle to benefit from this shift and potentially double its volumes in the coming years. A senior company executive said the Intra could become as large of a money-spinner as its breadand-butter under-one-tonne mini-truck, Ace.

The demand for vehicles that can haul larger loads has been growing in tandem with the growth in the last-mile delivery sector and an improving road network, Girish Wagh, executive director at Tata Motors, told ET.

With this, the number of buyers looking for larger pickup trucks compared to small commercial vehicles like the Tata Ace is also growing.

Tata Ace is the market leader in its segment with over 60% share, and Tata Motors now wants to replicate the success in the pickup trucks segment with the Intra and Yodha models. The segment is led by Mahindra with its Bolero pickup. Tata Motors this week refreshed its pickup truck portfolio, including a new bi-fuel variant of the Intra that runs on both petrol and CNG, and is betting on the range to boost sales growth.