Tata to review its product portfolio for a turnaround

Tata Motors is looking at a turnaround strategy for its passenger cars, going forward. The newly appointed MD & CEO, Guenter Butschek has decided to review the current product portfolio and also future launch plans in order to resurrect and bridge gaps.

Butschek has taken charge of Tata Motors less than two months back, previously he was the COO at Airbus, France for four years. He has a rich experience of 25 years with Daimler. “We might not be on everybody’s shopping list as a top priority, but we are working on it,” said Butschek . “We need to get back, and we can do it.”

Tata Motors has lately been struggling to maintain its market share, which has fallen drastically over the past few years in the absence of new models and a poor response to Nano. The market response for the Zest and Bolt has been luke warm and hence a review of the products has been called for by the MD.The recent launch of the Tiago and its aggressive pricing is an indicator of Tata’s future plans to eat into competition.

The sales of Tata Motors’ has fallen to more than half in the five years and Butschek seems worried about the performance. He said Tata Motors wants to develop and work on models that could be “game-changers” in the passenger vehicle market. “We are in the process to review our future technology to keep our pipeline filled with exciting products.”
Speaking on Nano, which has been refreshed and spruced up recently to make it more appealing and in sync with the times, the new MD said, “Nano is going to play a role in the new product strategy. The only question is which role it’s going to play.”
When asked if the model will continue or not, he said, “I am not saying that it will not be continued. As the Nano plays an important role today, it is part of the strategic product portfolio.”

Butschek said Tata Motors’ performance has been impacted by frequent changes in leadership. He took charge nearly two years after the exit of Karl Slym. The company also had ex-GM Europe boss Carl-Peter Foster at the helm for some time, but he quit over personal reasons in September 2011.

Source: ETAuto