In the run up to the new Tiago triplets' launch, CarToq's Jayaprashanth Mohanram sat down for a conversation with Tata Passenger Electric Mobility's Chief Commercial Officer Vivek Srivatsa. Here's what transpired.
Vivek Srivatsa: Hello, Hi, good afternoon, good afternoon.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Good afternoon sir. So okay, we are starting off right away. The Tiago I think is one of the most important cars for Tata from your Horizonnext strategy. Ever since you launched it 10 years ago, it's been a super hit. It was always big on value. I think the Tiago was launched at 3.2 lakh rupees and you know, it was cheaper than most trims of the Alto and the Kwid back in the day. So that is basically how the Tiago has been, despite being one size larger. So what was your thinking when you packed a 360 degree camera on a car that is so small? Similarly even rear AC vents as well as paddles for say, the AMT, and you know, the CNG variant as well. Is it about democratising features? What is it exactly?
Vivek Srivatsa: Yeah, see, I will just take a couple of steps back. If you go to 2018-19, the hatchback category was in excess of 50% of the market, you know, as of today, if I look at FY26, it had stabilised to about 20% of the market, so there is a reality that a lot of hatchback buyers have actually, you know, kind of step jumped over hatchbacks and bought, started buying CSUVs. The main reasons for that is over the period of time, I think hatchback customers have been shortchanged in terms of getting new aspirational features, latest designs, technology etc. It has kind of not cascaded down good enough. It (features) used to come down up to compact SUV or subcompact SUV and stop there because of the pricing challenge. The thought was, since we have to give it at a low price, let us stop short in terms of giving a wholesome kind of a package and as a result, what has happened is customers have delayed their car purchase, maybe 2 years, 3 years, till they can afford a compact SUV directly and hence, delayed the car purchase. However, we have been making constant upgrades to the Tiago. In 2020, we launched the mid-cycle enhanced facelift but even last year, we had created a minor update with larger touch screens and some features. Every time we have done this, we have seen a surge. For example, with the minor update last year, Tiago outgrew the market actually, both that hatch market as well as the mid hatch market. It outperformed. So, it shows that this customer is not just looking at price but also wants to be updated in terms of many other aspects.
So, that is the premise behind what we have put into in the next gen Tiago. You will see that in several areas, it is a big generational change. I will start first, of course, with the design. We made it far more modern, contemporary, youthful and very importantly, aspirational on the inside and outside. You will see with the choices of colours, we have released more space, the kind of fabrics that we have used, the digital clusters, LED headlamps on the outside, higher bonnet so that the first-time car buyer can drive it easily. On the engineering side, you will see that the car has been substantially enhanced with better use of high-strength steel, certain key areas have been strengthened, the torsional rigidity has been increased and we benchmarked our own Nexon for that so that, ride quality and stability is far better. So, coming to safety, I can say under embargo that we are working to achieve the highest level of safety with the Tiago. Obviously, we do not have any ratings yet. We will see the ratings when the test results come out, whenever the test happens but I can share openly that we are working towards the best level of safety.
Then coming to the electric and electronic architecture, we have unleashed features like 360-degree camera, real-time blind spot detection, wireless charger and rear AC vents to name a few which you already called out. All this comes with an enhanced electrical architecture which we have brought in from other architectures, you know, which are more expensive in the family itself. So, our thinking is let us not compromise anything for the hatchback buyer.
Let us give the hatchback buyer everything in terms of tech, in terms of safety, in terms of design, in terms of aspirational features and not be restrained by pricing and we believe that with this, a lot of buyers will go in for hatchbacks. It is still a big market. It is still a 1 million market and we think that we will attract a lot of first-time buyers and we will gain significant share in the hatchback segment.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: So, you have answered, you know, half already but I am asking you this question anyway. See, there is an uptick in small car demand. I have noticed that both the Tiago as well as one of your key competitor is doing good numbers. So, how much do you reckon is due to the GST rationalisation because that happened quite recently and, one follow up question to the same thing. What do you think the Tiago ICE and EV will do in terms of additional volumes thanks to this facelift which is a lot more comprehensive because you have already said that the last time you facelifted the car, it did bring in the additional volumes and you have done very well - it outgrew the segment. So, what do you think could be the additional volumes after this quite a comprehensive facelift. If you could put a number or, you know, tell me in percentage terms, and also about the GST.
Vivek Srivatsa: Yeah, see, it is difficult to put perspective on additional volume but I will give you a flavour. Let us start with the EV side first. EVs, when we launched the Punch EV, we highlighted that below 12 lakhs, EV penetration is far lesser than about 12 lakhs. In fact, below 12 lakhs, the penetration was less than 2 percent, less than 1 percent actually and but with the Punch, when we launched the Punch, we have seen demand for the EV Punch grow almost three and a half times. You might not see it in numbers because we are hugely constrained by production limitations, but on the booking side, we are seeing this surge. On the Tiago EV, we are expecting similar kind of growth, because with all these features being unleashed and a huge amount of right sizing happening, we think there will be a lot of takers for the Tiago EV, especially considering the current situation of both increase of fuel prices but also availability concerns in terms of CNG, LPG and all that. So, EV becomes a good alternate choice. So, EV, we are very bullish about.
On the ICE side, like I said last year, even a small update created a good traction and we outgrew the market. I mean, it is difficult to put a number behind how much growth we are expecting but we expect definitely a strong gain in our market share in the hatchback segment with all the updates that we have made on the ICE side as well.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Also, sir, the GST rationalisation, has it been working for you?
Vivek Srivatsa: Yes, it has worked, you know. I think we have grown in hatchbacks, we have grown in compact SUV, plus not only GST, I think we have introduced new engines in the Harrier, Safari. The Harrier EV is doing extremely well. Of course, Sierra, we are still ramping up production and we will see the full benefit of it subsequently. So, I think overall customer preference for our brand across categories is going up and we think it is a good time to really make this big generational update on the hatchback side.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: All right. Okay So, the Tiago, it was, as you said, facelifted quite recently, just last year. So, why did you call that a facelift?
Vivek Srivatsa: I will call it a minor update. Minor update.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: So, okay, this is like a comprehensive facelift then.
Vivek Srivatsa: Okay. So, this is a generational change. Last year was a minor update.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: So, this is an all-new model, Is what you are saying?
Vivek Srivatsa: Yes.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: And one more question is, have product life cycles shrunk even in the more affordable segments now that we are getting so many updates so quickly? Because if you notice in China, because of SDVs, etc. the Chinese are like, you know, coming up with a brand new car in 3-4 years now. So, it has shrunk to that level. So, is Tata also on that path, so to speak? I am asking you this because the EV, the Tiago.EV, can be upgraded quite quickly. So, are product life cycles shrinking even in India? This is not specific to the Tiago, but it is more like a general question.
Vivek Srivatsa: See, overall, in India, it is a balance, you know, it is a balance between getting the latest product, but also going with a trusted brand name and trusted design. So, I see it not being as ruthless as China in the next 4-5 years, because in India, still familiarity is a big thing. If I see a particular product on the road, I get a lot more confidence around it and I will go for it, rather than, you know, going for the latest kid in the market. The design or the design might be too futuristic or not palatable in the first year. It probably takes time to settle down. Probably some of the new features might not be very relevant for existing customers. Prices also go up with all the technology coming in. So, in India, it is a little bit of a balancing act. I would not say that we have that hunger to always keep updating in India. While updates are required, but that is not at the cost of, you know, familiarisation is what I would say. I would like to add a couple of points also, Jay Prashanth.
You asked me about this, if it is an all-new car. Of course, the design has changed, but you will see tomorrow, I will let you know that all the features I told you about in terms of 360 camera and all the electrical electronic architectures would not be possible in the earlier generation architecture. So, the way we have approached the Tiago is taking the best bits of the older architecture, robustness and, you know, the cost-effective parts of the earlier architecture, but also brought in a lot of tech and body strengthening aspects from the alpha architecture.
So, what the new Tiago has is an amalgamated architecture, which brings in the best of both worlds - the familiarity, the cost-effective parts of the ex, and the modern architecture from the alpha. So, it is an amalgamated architecture, and that is why we are able to push it to the limits of safety. That is why we are able to democratise a lot of these tech features.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: So, that is one more question that I was actually coming to, It (Tiago) was a safety champion even last time with the four-star rating. I did notice the ISOFIX chassis mount in the teaser. So, does this mean that you are going to get a five-star for this? Mr. Kulkarni, whom I spoke to earlier today, said that we are definitely aiming for it. And you also said the same thing.
Vivek Srivatsa: We are aiming. We cannot be sure till we get the results, but we are aiming for it.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Okay. That means tomorrow we are not going to have any innovative safety film like you showed with the Sierra and Punch?
Vivek Srivatsa: That is your motivation to come to the launch tomorrow.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Haha, well. So, moving on, this is an interesting question about, say, charging speeds. I have already gotten an answer from Mr. Kulkarni - charging speeds, battery size, and peak performance. So, I am not going to go to that question. But I am going to go to a more businessy question about BaaS. Are you going to be doing BaaS with the Tiago.EV and make it India's most accessible electric car? Because last time when Windsor came up with BaaS, there was a report that we did saying Tata also was thinking of it, but you denied it back then. Has anything changed in the interim?
Vivek Srivatsa: No, we did announce BaaS with Punch.EV. We did with Punch. I think we should do it for Tiago as well, but you will see it tomorrow.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: All right. Because, you know, it can be the most accessible car. This is something that we have been reporting on.
Vivek Srivatsa: Absolutely.
Jayaprashanth Moharam: And one more question was, fuel efficiency, which you have already answered. But are you seeing an uptick in demand for affordable electric cars? Because what I noticed was some, people who are into video, YouTubers, etc. they posted that they are suddenly seeing an uptick in viewership numbers for the Punch.EV. So, I mean, is it really translating to more walk-ins in the showrooms?
Vivek Srivatsa: Like I told you, you know, we have a 3X growth in booking numbers for Punch.EV. And basically because of the right sizing of Punch as an EV product, a Punch customer looks at a versatile car, which is robust. It is fairly good as a city car, but also you can go on unplanned long drives without worrying too much about what is the range you have and all that. So, that has worked very well. The Punch, the facelift that we have done has worked very well on the EV side. And of course, we have enhanced the battery capacity and reduced the prices too. But Tiago customer is a very different customer. We have sold more than 75,000 Tiagos. And we know exactly how these customers use their car. Tiago is primarily used as a city car, but also used for very predictable and planned long drives. I know that if I have to travel 120 kilometres and I know there is a charger at the end of my drive, or I know there's a predictable charger in between, many people do these repetitive long drives in the Tiago as well. So, it is a great, easy to drive, manoeuvrable, efficient city car.
And most people use it most of the time for that. But also quite a few people use it for planned, predictable long drives. So, the Tiago EV is built for purpose for this kind of a user. While Punch is a very versatile, unpredictable, go anywhere kind of a car, the new Tiago EV will be a very smart, feature packed, comfortable, modern, low cost of ownership city car. But it's also a car which can be extremely robust and capable on the highway, because of the better torsional stiffness, more comfortable, but on predictable highway runs, where you know that you don't have to struggle to find a charger. You know that you have a charger waiting at your destination, etc. And you also have fast charging now, which is almost at double the speed. It is double the speed, but also considering that the battery itself is smaller, the impact on the customer is very high. So, he'll get, maybe more than 100 kilometres range in just about, you know, less than 20 minutes, 18 minutes or so. So, that also matters a lot.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Though I haven't put it in your questions, I did put it in the other question that we had a Tiago EV that we did about 1 lakh 3 years before selling it off for one more EV. So, we've experienced it. It's been really outstanding. It was one of the most reliable cars that we bought. Three years, zero problems.
Vivek Srivatsa: Yeah. And the new one is far more desirable and stylish. Absolutely.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Yeah. Looking at the number of features. Yes. And finally, my pet question, sir. Why not the 1.2 litre turbo petrol inthe Tiago? You put it in the Punch Facelift. Since you're like, you know, anyway, giving customers everything, so why not in the Tiago? That is one question. Or is it because you already have high performance with the Tiago.EV?
Vivek Srivatsa: I think it is again about right sizing, you know. Like I said, this is for a customer who prefers, you know, of course, fuel efficiency, but also predictability. Like say the 1.2 NA (naturally aspirated) version, we have sold huge number of units, it is extremely reliable, extremely predictable. And most of Tiago customers fall in that. And if somebody wants performance, you always have the EV. So, that's how we've been looking at it.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: So, that means the JTP that you did once upon a time for the Tiago and Tigor - I don't think they're coming back anytime soon. Is that what you're implying?
Vivek Srivatsa: I mean, I can't say no to anything. Anything is possible. But right now, no visibility. And whoever bought those JTPs definitely have collector's version with them. Collectibles.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Yeah. Yes. So, because this is a question I even asked you last time. You said that you're already constrained with capacity and you know, you just have this much to work with.
Vivek Srivatsa: Exactly.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: All right. So, that is pretty much it, sir. I think I've covered everything. Thank you very much. I wish you the very best for the next one.
Vivek Srivatsa: I hope you're coming for the drive.
Jayaprashanth Mohanram: Yeah. I'm coming for the drive, sir. My colleague Neeraj will be joining you for the launch.
Vivek Srivatsa: Okay. Thank you.