WILL TATA'S CURVV BALL STRIKE OUT HYUNDAI?

Tata Motors needs an extra something to end the Korean company’s 15-year run as the No. 2 in India’s PV market.

- Sumant Banerji

On the evening of 29 January, billionaire stockbroker Motilal Oswal created a flutter when he declared on microblogging platform X that he would henceforth shun foreign goods in favour of locally produced ones, starting with the purchase of a new Tata Safari, a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Oswal used the hashtag #vocalforlocal, a catchphrase popularized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and tagged Modi along with Tata group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata in his post.

"In my pursuit of minimalistic and simple living, I have turned desi now. Stopped buying foreign cars, watches and other luxuries.

World-class Indian products are available now. Started with my Tata Safari, next would be Mahindra," Oswal wrote in the post on X.

Oswal is just one of the tens of thousands of consumers who have turned to Tata Motors Ltd in the frenzy to buy products made by homegrown companies. The company has unabashedly touted this shift while marketing its cars-a 'vocal 4 local' sticker adorns each of them. Along with other factors, the move has paid rich dividends.

Since 2020, Tata Motors has witnessed a stunning turnaround in fortunes in the domestic market-almost doubling its share and more than trebling absolute sales. Aided by a new design language and some technical support from Jaguar Land Rover, its British subsidiary, it has resuscitated an ageing and uninspiring brand and successfully exploited the market's clamour for SUVS. In the process, it has not only overtaken Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd to become the thirdlargest passenger vehicle maker in the country but also edged closer to Hyundai Motor India for the No. 2 spot-a position it lost more than 15 years ago.