For Tata Motors, BS-VI is about delivering value to truck buyers

Commercial vehicles chief Girish Wagh believes total cost of ownership is the key

- MURALI GOPALAN

Girish Wagh is only too aware that these are not the easiest of times for the commercial vehicle industry.

On one side is the prolonged economic slowdown which has spread doom and gloom across segments. On the other is the onset of Bharat Stage-VI emission norms from April 1, which will see products becoming more expensive.

“Our focus is clearly on doing what we can do rather than sulk and complain about a problem. The key is to do the best we can and wait for the external environment to improve,” says Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors.

As he puts it, when a downturn happens and demand ends up lagging supply, it is important to stay trim. For instance, when the fall became “even more savage” from this fiscal, the company began focussing on retail and stock reduction as top priorities.

The other important zone was cash and costs, which meant a reduction in working capital. Consequently, Tata Motors is now “sitting on a healthy level of stocks” for the reduced level of volumes. Sure enough, realisations began hurting from April but the focus was on delivering better value to the customer, both on products and after-sales.

“We also continued to improve our service standards and customers began seeing the value,” continues Wagh. When production —_ was slashed, both at plants and dealerships, retail emerged higher than wholesale numbers, which in turn exceeded production.

Greater transparency

“It was tough going but we managed it intelligently in terms of block closures while rationalising the number of shifts,” he says. There was also greater transparency with suppliers right through the transition given that retail was the new mantra and production cuts were naturally higher.