19 February, 2020
Declining GDP and subdued demand environment due to the overlap of cyclical and structural issues, growing environmental challenges, and unpredictable policy frameworks have made the growth story of the Indian auto industry more challenging. To add to this situation, we still have the wrong incentive system due to the wholesale-based market share reference, and the unnecessary confusion in the consumers' mindset on the choice of technology - BSIV and BSVI, ICE and EV.
As the cyclical impact is strong and out of the industry's control, the structural factors are more worrisome as they are prompting the industry to provide cleaner and smarter mobility solutions for India. It has given birth to new technology developments across the automotive and supply chain, enabling safe, responsible and sustainable solutions.
India, as a country, has the capability and competence to leapfrog the technology curve, outperform the global trends, and be a leader. India being a diversified market needs customized solutions. The answer lies in working towards a micro market strategy to develop customer centric solutions for urban and rural mobility.
To master the challenges and India's unique opportunities, Technology, Talent and Time to market will be key. At Tata Motors, our focus is on 'CESS,' (C) Connected, (E) Electric, (S) Shared, (S) Safe, to revolutionize the mobility agenda.
Connected: Our Customers want to stay connected all the time. The connected vehicle technologies are being developed at a rapid pace with companies pouring in huge investments. In a connected India, we will have fewer traffic jams; travel will be more efficient with real-time traffic management and our consumers would enjoy a seamless experience of comfort and convenience.
We, at Tata Motors, have developed a fully indigenous Connected Vehicle Platform (CVP) for CV, PV and EV. All our future products will have the CVP platform built in to address diversified applications and consumer preferences. The Connected vehicle platform will collect data, create insights, perform analytics, enhance decision-making and above all, bring new opportunities by enabling a truly digital consumer experience and tapping in new revenue streams.
Our CVP offering will be distinct to others, as it will come with a host of unique features, giving more value to our customers. In a first for the Indian automotive industry, we collaborated with 'what3words' to enable the consumers to enter a 3-word address by voice or text input, and then navigate to the accurate address within three meters of the destination location. This is especially relevant in the Indian context, where the addresses are non-standard and complex network of roads makes it difficult for the last-mile navigation. This accurate & unique three word-addressing system will make the last-mile navigation simple, safe, hassle-free and less time-consuming for the Indian customers.
In 2015, we became the first OEM to introduce a telematics solution in our commercial vehicles to provide a comprehensive fleet management package. We are the first vehicle manufacturer in India installing more than 100,000 advanced telematics units in our commercial vehicles under the Tata Fleetman program.
We are confident that our CVP solution will re-define the way our consumers connect, engage with their vehicles and their digital ecosystem. Stay tuned to our all-new product portfolio showcase at the upcoming Auto expo in Feb' 2020.
Electric: As the fuel reserves deplete at a rapid pace and the growing impact of climate change begins to pose a serious risk to our current and future generations, the world is waking up to the need for sustainable mobility solutions and, at the core of the discussion is the electrification journey.
In India, electrification is finding a new evolved space in all discussions and debates. The Prime Minister's initiative of a first-ever Global Mobility Summit (MOVE), last year, gave a unique platform to the industry and the related stakeholders to kick-start the mandate of defining the electrification roadmap for India.
We have challenges as well as opportunities in our way to electrification. Availability of charging infrastructure, readiness of battery manufacturing capacity, customers' range anxiety are the key concerns. However, we have seen a positive thrust coming from the government in the form of FAME incentives and providing relief by tax and registration sops.
As an OEM with the launch of our Nexon EV, India's first own EV, we are gearing up for an attractive range of aspirational and affordable products in the EV space in the years to come. We will find our own solutions, by building a comprehensive 'One Tata' ecosystem, as it is the Tata uniEVerse. We believe EV's have the potential to go mainstream.
Shared: Shared mobility is critical to India's future growth and delivering on consumers' aspiration of enhanced quality of life. As aspirations start outpacing affordability and infrastructure bottlenecks, organizations need to find innovative ways to solve the current challenges of congestion, poor productivity, efficiency, transparency and accessibility, prevailing within the transport ecosystem.
The existing urban infrastructure is under immense strain and there is a dire need to build sustainable and safe cities including smart mobility concepts. Towards this end, the Government's 'Smart Cities' Mission, initiated in 2014, envisages the setting up of 100 smart cities across the country.
This is a great opportunity for technological innovations in the shared mobility space. It serves as one of the most promising hot spots for new and pioneering start-ups. More than anything, it promotes consumers to be responsible in their choices of mobility.
We, at Tata Motors, are actively seeking for partners to help us grow our presence in the shared economy. TruckEasy has been just one such investment initiative from our side. More to come soon!
Safe: It's not a proud statistic to have a traffic related fatality every 4 minutes. Besides an advanced infrastructure and navigation system, safe mobility will depend on stricter enforcement of the safety norms for vehicles as well as drivers/passengers. This year, the Government has rolled out a host of new safety norms, i.e., ABS, driver-side airbag, a speed warning system, a seatbelt reminder for driver and co-driver, and rear parking sensors, and new stringent requirements for full-frontal impact; offset-frontal impact, aiming to reduce the instances of road accidents and the ensuing fatalities.
With our engineering talent and competence, we have been able to set a new benchmark in car safety standards. The Tata Nexon became the first car in India to achieve a full '5 stars' adult safety rating from Global NCAP, and now the Tata Altroz, becomes our second product and the first hatchback car in India to receive a '5 stars' adult safety rating.
In conclusion, like the rest of the world, India will witness CESS - technology driven disruption in the mobility space. New players entering into new 'white spaces' with differentiated service offerings will redefine the market.
Tata Motors would like to lead the disruption in CESS and drive mobility in an Inclusive, Sustainable and Transformational manner (IST). IST is the only answer to solve India's current mobility challenges. 'I' denotes the Inclusivity of our thoughts with all aspects under consideration, a mutually agreed plan by all relevant parties. 'S' denotes the Sustainability of our actions, the rigor and execution of our plans to address the key pain points, and 'T' denotes the Transformational approach to lead the future, by translating our joint vision into reality.
We commit to drive the future of mobility in a Connected India by providing responsible and sustainable mobility solutions!
