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Tata Motors is looking to consolidate its position in the SUV segment as it marks its entry into the highly competitive mid-size space which is currently dominated by South Korean and Japanese carmakers.
The Mumbai-based auto major on Monday launched midsize SUV coupe Curvv with petrol and diesel powertrains with a price starting at Rs 9.99 lakh.
The company has already unveiled the electric version of the model in August.
The model would be competing with the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and Honda Elevate, among others.
"Curvv is being positioned in the fast-growing, mid-size SUV segment, which is roughly 16 per cent of the whole industry (passenger vehicle) size.
"If translated into numbers, it would be like 7 lakh units a year," Tata Motors passenger vehicle MD Shailesh Chandra told PTI in an interaction.
The segment is very competitive with various brands having a product already in the market, he noted.
Therefore, if one enters this segment so late, then it will have to think of coming up with a slightly differentiated approach, Chandra said.
"And that was the thinking behind Curvv..which comes with an SUV coupe body style.
"We saw that this was gaining popularity globally, especially in the premium or luxury segment," he added.
Further, he said: "So we thought, why don't we bring this into the crowded segment as a fresh, refreshing kind of a body style."
When asked about sales expectations from the model, Chandra said: "We have come with this model, with the best in class features.
"It's a differentiated product in this and therefore we think it is going to perform well."
He noted that Tata Motors currently has a market share of around 19 per cent in the SUV segment and expects the new model to help it grow further.
"We'll gain from where we are.
"The market leader in SUVs would be, say, 21-22 per cent, so it's a crowded segment.
"It's not that one player is holding the roost here.
"All the top 3-4 players in SUVs are around the same market share figure," Chandra said.
He noted that the company is also looking to enhance its dealer network by around 10-15 per cent in the next one year.
"We have a very aggressive plan of expanding dealerships.
"We will need to have an enhanced network.
"We will have to make them bigger, also in size. And therefore, for EVs, we have started separation of the outlets.
"So there will be expansion in touchpoints, not only on the sales side, but big time on the service side as well," Chandra said.
Tata Curvv comes with two petrol and a diesel engine option.
"The introduction of the Curvv further enhances our SUV portfolio as a comprehensive mid-SUV product with multiple powertrains, several first-in-segment features, a brand new capable architecture - ATLAS and Level 2 ADAS," Chandra said.
Besides Curvv, Tata Motors sells models like Punch, Nexon, Harrier and Safari in the domestic market.