TATA Motors has its presence both in the commercial as well as the passenger market segments in Nepal. Which segment is your focus?
Sipradi has always been a very customer centric company. Our focus has always been to add value to every product and service we offer. As such, TATA, as a brand, has always rolled out the best in class products—be it passenger or commercial vehicles. Our focus as a distributor for Nepal is to add value to these world class products, equip them with customized customer service experience and then, only then, offer it to the market.
How do you place your latest utility entries like Nexon and Hexa in the Nepali market?
Nexon is the first Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV) from TATA Motors. Before its launch, Nexon was a talk of the town with heavy enquiries regarding its launch and speculations about its price. We had pre-booking of 150 units of Nexon before its launch. With its launch, our market coverage of passenger cars has increased from 48 percent to 68 percent. Nexon is primarily targeted at upper middle class urban youths who are upgraders or first time buyers. It competes against Ford Ecosport, Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Nissan Terrano.
Hexa is targeted at top executives of corporate houses and entrepreneurs and competes against Mahindra XUV 500 and Toyota Rush. Hexa enthralled everyone when it was first showcased at the 2017 Nada Auto Show. Hexa again came in limelight with 11 deliveries on the first day of its retail selling. Currently, Hexa stands strong in the SUV segment with encouraging reviews, outstanding performance and increasing demand alongside its near cousin Safari Storme.
In your view, will the recent increase in vehicle taxes and custom duties affect your sales?
All automobile companies have a range of products. In relation to the recent increase in taxes and customs, some products are affected more, some are affected less while some are not affected at all. The same is the case with us. Ultimately, there is a trade-off and the overall market is neutralized. Numbers in certain segments may increase while the numbers in other segments may decrease, thus having minimal impact on overall sales.
Tata is seen to be losing to its nearest competitors in terms of resale value of pre-owned cars. How do you address this situation?
Sipradi Assured (Sister Company of Sipradi Trading) caters to the customers from the pre-owned market. TATA Motors has a very competitive resale value. In certain segments, customers enjoy the best resale value on their TATA vehicles. To further guarantee good resale value, all the pre-bookings of Nexon were also guaranteed 75 percent resale value.
What are your current or upcoming models in the passenger segment that you think will make you market leaders?
Nexon has become the game changer for us due to its styling and hosts of features. TATA is now taken into consideration by all auto enthusiasts, customers and prospects alike. The market triggered by Nexon will soon see TATA Harrier (SUV competing against Jeep Compass and Creta) and TATA X451 (premium hatchback competing against Suzuki Baleno, VW Polo and Hyundai i20). These two products are expected to lead their respective segments and make TATA among the market leaders
