Tata Ace surpasses sales goal
Courtesy: AutoCar India
Rediff: Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) Ace, which was launched in May 2005, as the base model in commercial vehicles segment, has surpassed the company’s target of 30,000 units in its first year of operations.
Tata Ace was introduced as a competitor for three-wheel vehicles that have a truck bed to carry cargo. The company decided to focus on the ROI-sensitive customer who would be willing to pay a slightly higher price, but would require lower operating costs. Tata Motors also had to address a key concern of commercial vehicle buyers – lead (time taken to travel a distance) and load (weight it could take). Hence, the Ace was built to achieve top speeds of 64 kmph compared to 50-56 kmph in the case of three-wheelers.
With an aggressive pricing strategy, Tata Motors launched the Ace in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra – 70 per cent of three- wheeler sales happen in these five states. At a value price point of Rs 220,000, the Ace was targeted to attract buyers who would otherwise buy three-wheelers at price points from Rs 120,000-Rs 190,000.
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