 "We at JLR are adapting ourselves to the diesel ban: Rohit Suri")
Jaguar Land Rover, luxury vehicle arm of Tata Motors, is one of the most affected by the sales ban in the National Capital Region on diesel vehicles with engines above 2,000cc Region, imposed by the Supreme Court last December. It has hastened introduction of petrol options; on Monday, it launched a petrol variant of its SUV Discovery Sport. Rohit Suri, president of JLR India, tells Ajay Modi it wants to make sure that volumes are not lost due to lack of petrol variants. Edited excerpts:
Tell us about the significance of petrol variant launch in Discovery Sport?
We didn't have a petrol variant of the Discovery Sport, unlike in others such as the Jaguar XE, XJ and Range Rover Sports. We are adapting ourselves to the ban in the NCR and ensuring we don’t lose customers for want of a petrol variant. In the Range Rover Evoque, too, we will bring a petrol variant.
Fortunately, we have in almost all products both diesel and petrol available, from a global JLR perspective. Of this, what we bring to India is based on the business case here. If we still see demand for diesel strong and relevant in states outside the NCR, we will bring both diesel and petrol, if the volumes justify introduction.
How did the NCR market perform this year, after the diesel ban?
There was an impact. NCR is 20 per cent of our India volume. However, we had some petrol variants and it is not that the entire 20 per cent was lost. More petrol variants will help us grow sales here.
How has the diesel-petrol ratio moved for JLR after the diesel ban?
Before the ban, over 90 per cent was diesel share in our volumes. After the ban, it is changing fast and now a little over 80 per cent is diesel. The process of change had started earlier, due to a closure of the gap between petrol and diesel pricing. People were mostly driven to diesel because of the cost. That is why we started bringing petrol (engines). We will definitely see a gradual shift to petrol.
Your competitors are trying to target younger professionals by introducing products in a budget that suits them. How do you plan to approach this segment?
Without having had a product in this segment we still had a nine per cent market share. This shows many are willing to buy a JLR in comparison to other brands. As we did not have products equivalent to the C-class (Mercedes) or A3 (Audi), we are missing out on a 40-50 per cent share of the market. With the launch of the Jaguar XE early this year, we have marked our entry in this segment.
What market share will you aspire for?
We are looking to double our market share. That would be the minimum. It will be enabled by the kind of product portfolio we have. Our ambitions are much higher.
Isn’t it that other luxury vehicle companies are more aggressive in the Indian market, while JLR appears cautious?
We have a nine per cent share without having products in the segment that brings 40-50 per cent volume. We have been one of the late entrants but still gained a decent market share. It shows that in spite of slightly higher pricing, people want to buy our products. Companies like Porsche and Volvo entered before us but I don’t think they have managed to take a significant position.
Where is JLR on localisation, compared to your competitors?
Depending on when the brands came to India, our cars are at a different level of localisation. Our evolution has been one of the fastest. We already have five products being manufactured in India. We are working very hard and should be able to catch up.
Tell us about the significance of petrol variant launch in Discovery Sport?
We didn't have a petrol variant of the Discovery Sport, unlike in others such as the Jaguar XE, XJ and Range Rover Sports. We are adapting ourselves to the ban in the NCR and ensuring we don’t lose customers for want of a petrol variant. In the Range Rover Evoque, too, we will bring a petrol variant.
Also Read
For your future product line, will you look at launching both petrol and diesel variants?
Fortunately, we have in almost all products both diesel and petrol available, from a global JLR perspective. Of this, what we bring to India is based on the business case here. If we still see demand for diesel strong and relevant in states outside the NCR, we will bring both diesel and petrol, if the volumes justify introduction.
How did the NCR market perform this year, after the diesel ban?
There was an impact. NCR is 20 per cent of our India volume. However, we had some petrol variants and it is not that the entire 20 per cent was lost. More petrol variants will help us grow sales here.
How has the diesel-petrol ratio moved for JLR after the diesel ban?
Before the ban, over 90 per cent was diesel share in our volumes. After the ban, it is changing fast and now a little over 80 per cent is diesel. The process of change had started earlier, due to a closure of the gap between petrol and diesel pricing. People were mostly driven to diesel because of the cost. That is why we started bringing petrol (engines). We will definitely see a gradual shift to petrol.
Your competitors are trying to target younger professionals by introducing products in a budget that suits them. How do you plan to approach this segment?
Without having had a product in this segment we still had a nine per cent market share. This shows many are willing to buy a JLR in comparison to other brands. As we did not have products equivalent to the C-class (Mercedes) or A3 (Audi), we are missing out on a 40-50 per cent share of the market. With the launch of the Jaguar XE early this year, we have marked our entry in this segment.
What market share will you aspire for?
We are looking to double our market share. That would be the minimum. It will be enabled by the kind of product portfolio we have. Our ambitions are much higher.
Isn’t it that other luxury vehicle companies are more aggressive in the Indian market, while JLR appears cautious?
We have a nine per cent share without having products in the segment that brings 40-50 per cent volume. We have been one of the late entrants but still gained a decent market share. It shows that in spite of slightly higher pricing, people want to buy our products. Companies like Porsche and Volvo entered before us but I don’t think they have managed to take a significant position.
Where is JLR on localisation, compared to your competitors?
Depending on when the brands came to India, our cars are at a different level of localisation. Our evolution has been one of the fastest. We already have five products being manufactured in India. We are working very hard and should be able to catch up.