Weighed down by demand slump in the utility vehicle segment, Tata Motors has scaled down production of Sumo Grande, the sports utility vehicle it launched in January this year.
Though Tata Motors does not give the sales figure for Sumo Grande separately, the sales of the Sumo and Safari range of vehicles fell to 2,914 in October 2008 from 4010 a year ago.
When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson said the company has reduced the production of utility vehicles (UVs) and sports utility vehicles in line with market demand, which is reflected in the October month’s released figures.
This segment has been under pressure since the July ad hoc imposition of an additional excise duty on vehicles with engine displacement over 1.5 litre. “This impacted the sales of the Grande, just like other vehicles in this category,” the spokesperson said, adding the cumulative growth of the Sumo and Safari range was 4 per cent till October 2008, in a segment that has been sluggish over the last few months.
Sumo Grande, which was launched in January this year, is being manufactured at the Tata Motors' Pimpri plant. The vehicle is priced in the range of Rs 6.80 lakh to Rs 7.75 lakh . The company has been promoting Sumo Grande as a vehicle with a blend of family car and an SUV.
