After Tiago, Tigor and Nexon to get AMT soon: Tata Motors

Tata Motors has said that half of its passenger vehicles portfolio will have AMT in the future

Tata Motors is betting big on automated manual transmission (AMT) to boost sales of its passenger vehicles (PVs), expecting 50 per cent of the product portfolio to have the technology in future, according to a senior company official.

The company has introduced the AMT technology on the mid-end variant of its popular hatchback Tiago priced at Rs 4.79 lakh to add to the existing top-end variant of the model.

Besides, Tata Motors plans to launch AMT-equipped version of compact sedan Tigor in the next three to four months, while upcoming compact SUV Nexon will have it before the end of the ongoing fiscal.

"When we launched AMT variant of Tiago on top-end variant earlier this year, there was a substantial jump in sales of the model. Over 15 per cent of total Tiago booked today are AMT variant," Tata Motors Head Marketing Passenger Vehicle Business Unit Vivek Srivatsa told PTI.

He said the company is working towards making AMT even more affordable to its customers by introducing it at the mid-end variant of Tiago.

"We expect around 10 per cent increase in overall sales of Tiago after the introduction of AMT in the mid-end variant," he said.

Tiago is currently clocking wholesales of around 5,000 units a month on an average with a waiting period of 15-40 days depending on variants, he added.

When asked if Tata Motors planned to introduce AMT in other models, Srivatsa said: "It will come in Tigor in another three to four months."

Tigor is selling around 2,500 units a month and is expected to go up over 3,000 by around Diwali, he added.

While the company is expected to launch compact SUV Nexon next month, he said the model would have AMT in both petrol and diesel engine options by the end of the ongoing fiscal.

Bullish on the AMT technology, Srivatsa said considering the evolving customer aspirations, Tata Motors expects 50 per cent of its product portfolio to have it in future.

"AMT is going to be a key part of our growth strategy," he said.

It has found good acceptance in India mainly due to ease of driving especially in traffic conditions, fuel efficiency and is not so expensive unlike the proper automatic transmission technology, he added.

When asked about sales outlook, Srivatsa said: "The industry grew 7.3 per cent in April-July this fiscal whereas Tata Motors was able to clock 10.5 per cent. With the AMT variants coming up and new model lined up, we should be able to grow in double digits this fiscal.