With the launch of Intra, Tata Motors creates a compact truck segment

Tata Motors on Wednesday launched a new range of compact truck, Tata Intra — a small commercial vehicle developed under the modular platform. The company claimed it was India’s first compact truck and with the launch, it created a new segment in the small commercial vehicles space.

The company showcased two variants V10 and V20, which are priced at Rs 5.35 lakh and Rs 5.85 lakh, respectively.

The new range of the compact truck comes 14 years after Tata Motors apparently created the small commercial vehicle (SCV) space with the launch of Tata Ace. In FY19, Ace variants grew around 60 per cent in volume terms; SCV products have over 2 million customers cumulatively.

Guenter Butschek, CEO and managing director, Tata Motors, said that the new product will not replace Ace, but it will be more “like a sister”. 

With the launch of Intra in the sub-1 tonne segment, Tata Motors is looking at phasing out higher versions of its popular mini trucks — Ace Supra and Ace Mega — in due course to avoid cannibalism, as well help Intra make inroads fast and drive growth, said Girish Wagh, president, commercial vehicles business unit, Tata Motors.

He noted that Tata is the market leader in the SCV segment with a share of over 40 per cent. Though Intra now comes with BS IV emission norms, it is likely to be available with BS VI norms, probably from April 1, 2020. 

"We felt this is an ideal time to drive this product home as we have more than 10 months to go before BS VI become the norm of the day. We hope to increase our market share further in the SCV segment," he said.

“Ace used to sell a minimum of 2,500 units a month and it is continued to do and we want to replicate the Ace success in Intra,” he noted.

He said globally, the ratio of heavy-duty vehicles and SCVs is 1:4, but in India, it is 1:2, and hence there is enough headroom for further growth in the country. Speaking about the CV industry outlook, Wagh said that the industry is expected to grow in single digit and there both headwinds and tailwinds.