[caption id="attachment_4357" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Rajiv Dube at the launch of Service Edge "]
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Be it the Nano or the Manza, Tata Motors has been making news since the launch of its first Indica in 1998. CarWale caught up with the ace man Rajiv Dube, president - passenger car division for a quick tete-a-tete during the recent launch of Service Edge - Tata's new brand identity for after sales service
With the launch of Service Edge, you seem to be becoming serious about providing the best after sales service?
Yes, very much. When the first Tata cars were launched i.e. the Indica in 1998, we had received a lot of flak for the engineering but in less than 10 years time we have been able to overcome all the hardships and are today one the leading car manufacturers in India. So as our sales grew, we also realised that it is important for us to provide the best service to our customers as they are our mouthpiece. Service Edge brings all the services that we have been offering till now under one umbrella.
Most car manufacturers, including Tata Motors, have registered a stupendous growth in the last couple of months. Do you think the dream run will come to an end with rise in excise duty, with prices expected to rise from April 1?
In India, widely car purchases are not made on price fluctuations in the market. It is more of an emotion drive. And that is what differentiates India from other countries. Yes, there might be a slight dip in demand but on a larger picture; I don’t see any drastic changes in consumer behavior. The hike in excise duty came as a shocker.
How is the industry reacting to the hike?
Well, surely the industry will not be able to take in the cost and so it will automatically be passed on to the customer. The price hike in cars will come effective from April 1, 2010. We don’t see much change in demand of cars and with more product launches in the next couple of months; things will be exciting for us.
What are the launches expected from Tata Motors?
We are planning to launch the Aria by the middle of this year and the Jaguar XJ by the first quarter of the next financial year. And as opposed to the rumours floating, there is no facelift of the Safari planned.
Tata is launching the electric versions of the Nano and Vista
. Do we see them coming to India?
We would have loved to launch the electric cars in India as well, but we don’t see any point in launching them. We do not have enough electricity to power our homes, from where do we charge the cars. So, for now, no plans of brining the electric cars to India.
It’s been almost 12 years since the first Tata car was launched. How has been the journey so far?
It has indeed been an exciting journey for all us. Since the launch of Indica in ’98 which to quite an extent changed the industry game and then with successive launches of Indigo, then the Nano and now the Manza. With Manza, we have been able to deliver what the customer has in mind of a car that is affordable as well spacious. Many international car makers have taken decades to reach the brand recognition which we have been able to do in just a decade. So in that sense it has been run for us to match up to the standards of international manufacturers.
