birendra.trivedi
Birendra Trivedi
In May 2005, Tata Motors Ltd commercially launched the ‘Tata Ace’(Ace), India's first indigenously developed sub-one tonne mini-truck. Tata Motors said the Ace fitted into the hub-and-spoke distribution system as a last-mile distribution vehicle by providing a transport link into interior areas, where roads might not be wide enough to accommodate larger commercial vehicles. The development of road infrastructure had led to an increase in the distribution of goods by road across the country. Tata Motors anticipated an opportunity in the sub-one ton payload segment, and developed the Ace for this market.
The decision to develop the Ace was made after a study that found that customers wanted a last mile-distribution vehicle that had low maintenance costs, higher driver safety, and better driving comfort. In line with these customer requirements, the company developed and launched the Ace, which created a new segment in the market for four-wheel commercial vehicles — the small commercial vehicle (SCV) segment, which was earlier the province of three-wheel cargo carriers.
Despite being priced higher than the three-wheeler alternatives, the Ace received a good response from the market. One reason for the success of the vehicle was that customers felt that it looked and performed better than the existing alternatives. Various value enhancements such as car-like features in the driver's cabin, attractive finish and better safety features helped improve the value perceived by customers. The company targeted customers who were willing to pay a higher price in return for lower operating costs. For the future, Tata Motors planned to introduce a CNG version and even a passenger carrier variant of the Ace.
Tata Motors sold around 30,000 units of the Ace in 2005-06. Having launched the vehicle in key markets across India, the company planned to further increase its coverage across all geographical markets. It announced that it was taking steps to ramp up the existing production capacity for the Ace, at its Pune plant, from 30,000 units to 75,000 units. The company expected to set up a new manufacturing plant for the Ace in Uttaranchal, with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles, by March 2007. In addition to targeting the domestic market, Tata Motors launched the Ace in Sri Lanka in May 2006. In June 2006, it was reported that the company was preparing to launch the vehicle in markets such as Bangladesh, Africa, South Korea, West Asia (Gulf), and the CIS countries, by 2008.
Analysts expected the Ace to face stiff competition in the near future. After witnessing the successful response to the vehicle, all the major Indian three-wheeler manufacturers and light commercial vehicle (LCV) makers announced their plans to roll out sub-one tonne, four-wheel vehicles for the SCV segment:SugarwareZ-098:
The decision to develop the Ace was made after a study that found that customers wanted a last mile-distribution vehicle that had low maintenance costs, higher driver safety, and better driving comfort. In line with these customer requirements, the company developed and launched the Ace, which created a new segment in the market for four-wheel commercial vehicles — the small commercial vehicle (SCV) segment, which was earlier the province of three-wheel cargo carriers.
Despite being priced higher than the three-wheeler alternatives, the Ace received a good response from the market. One reason for the success of the vehicle was that customers felt that it looked and performed better than the existing alternatives. Various value enhancements such as car-like features in the driver's cabin, attractive finish and better safety features helped improve the value perceived by customers. The company targeted customers who were willing to pay a higher price in return for lower operating costs. For the future, Tata Motors planned to introduce a CNG version and even a passenger carrier variant of the Ace.
Tata Motors sold around 30,000 units of the Ace in 2005-06. Having launched the vehicle in key markets across India, the company planned to further increase its coverage across all geographical markets. It announced that it was taking steps to ramp up the existing production capacity for the Ace, at its Pune plant, from 30,000 units to 75,000 units. The company expected to set up a new manufacturing plant for the Ace in Uttaranchal, with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles, by March 2007. In addition to targeting the domestic market, Tata Motors launched the Ace in Sri Lanka in May 2006. In June 2006, it was reported that the company was preparing to launch the vehicle in markets such as Bangladesh, Africa, South Korea, West Asia (Gulf), and the CIS countries, by 2008.
Analysts expected the Ace to face stiff competition in the near future. After witnessing the successful response to the vehicle, all the major Indian three-wheeler manufacturers and light commercial vehicle (LCV) makers announced their plans to roll out sub-one tonne, four-wheel vehicles for the SCV segment:SugarwareZ-098: