The country’s largest auto maker, Tata Motors today said it expects to clock a double digit growth in sales in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment this fiscal on the back of reviving market demand.
The company hopes to benefit from orders for delivery of 5,000 buses to various state and local transport bodies under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
It is also going ahead with the launch of its one-tonne ’Super Ace’ truck in December, besides rolling out the Ace EX with stop-start engine nationally within the next few months.
“We hope the pattern (of market revival) would continue and maybe we can expect a double digit growth this fiscal,” Tata Motors President-Commercial Vehicle Business Unit Ravi Pisharody told reporters here.
He said the second half of the fiscal is crucial to sustain the bounce back.
“After months of slowdown, the light and medium CV market has bounced back since past few months and now even the heavy vehicle sales have started reviving. The next six months would hopefully be good,” Pisharody said.
The auto major had registered a total sales of 2,65,012 units of CVs during 2008-09.
Its cumulative CV sales during the first six months of the current fiscal was 1,61,700 units, a jump of 11 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
Tata Motors is also set to deliver 5,000 buses to various transport bodies across the country within the next six months as part of the JNNURM programme.
Today it delivered 107 ultra low entry (ULE) buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
“We will be delivering around 2,000 buses to DTC during the rest of the fiscal, of which 40 per cent would be AC and the rest non-AC. Besides, we have already started delivery of buses under the JNNURM contract to various state and local bodies and we will deliver 5,000 such buses this fiscal,” Pisharody said.
Regarding the launch of new models of CVs, he said the company would unravel its one-tonne Super Ace truck by the end of 2009.
“The Super Ace was showcased last month and we will launch it by December,” Pisharody said.
The company is also going ahead with the national roll out of the Ace EX with stop-start engine.
“The CV is currently marketed in West Bengal and we will also roll it out nationally in the next few months,” Pisharody said, without giving details.
