Guru Gobind Singh ji
Aroon Sheshadari (10010) Piyush Kakkar (10030) Rahul Malhotra(10035) Vikram Arora(10057) Loma P Desai (10086) Vishwas Sharma (10119)
Strategy for sustaining momentum for Tata Ace
Brief Background of Ace y India 's first mini truck y Launched in May 2005 y Tag line Small is Big y Answer to the marketing myopia of three wheelers
Idea behind launching Tata Ace
Market Situation y y
y
Govt plans of road expansion. High GDP growth rate positively correlated with truck penetration. High probability of increased demand in LCV segment.
Company Situation y y
Tata product portfolio lacked greater than 45 tons and sub one ton vehicles. Scope of enhancing market share
Gap Analysis based on Market Research
Demand Side Gap : Large and Medium Trucks Restrictions in entering cities during peak hours ongested and narro lanes in commercial areas Demand Side Gap : Three Wheelers Banned in certain metros and bigger cities Restrictions on high ays and express ays due to speed and safety concerns Failure in enhancing the social image of the user Supply Side Gap Portfolio lacking sub 2 ton offerings Needed immunity against the cyclical trends in commercial vehicles segment
Higher per unit transportation cost and poor conditions of roads makes them unsuitable for rural customers
Marketing Strategy- Segmentation &Target
TATA ACE S CORE MARKET
FEATURE SENSITIVE (7%) BALANCED PERSPECTIVE (25%)
PRICE CONSTRAINED CO STRAINED (13%)
ROI SENSITIVE (55%)
Tata Motors focused on capturing these two segments.
Marketing Strategy -Positioning
POSITIONING y Ace was positioned as a vehicle that offered the
price, fuel efficiency, and maneuverability of a three wheeler y but with the safety, durability, additional payload, and
comfort of a four-wheeled truck.
Sourcing & Production Strategy y Aggregate Outsourcing
Sourcing complete assemblies such as rear axle frame rather than assembling these
References: y www.tatamotors.com (annual reports) y www.siamindia.com y www.wikipedia.com y HBR case study Tata Motors: The Tata Ace by Krishna G. Palepu, Vishnu Srinivasan 21 pages. Publication date: Sep 18, 2007. Prod. #: 108011-PDF-ENG y http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tatasace-mini-truck-suddenly-gets-competition/396000/