Tavera eyes top fleet segment slot

With the exit of Toyota Qualis from the fleet segment, General Motors' Tavera is set to emerge as a major contender in this niche segment in the coming months.

General Motors India (GMI) would take on the fleet segment with the Tavera, by launching its fleet programme starting next month.

The increase in GMI's production capacity to 60,000 units per annum at the Halol facility in Gujarat from next month is expected to provide the extra impetus to push more entry-level Taveras into the Indian fleet segment.

The basic version of Tavera starting at Rs 5.6 lakh is also lucratively priced to occupy the vacuum created by the exit of Qualis.

Demand from fleet operators in India is estimated at 60,000 units a year. Of this, Qualis accounted for 16,000 units, Sumo 22,000 units and the rest from Bolero, Armada and the Scorpio.

Although Tata Sumo is a well entrenched player in the fleet market, analysts said it was strong mostly in the non-metro cities.

Also, according to automobile analysts, Tavera and Qualis scored over Sumo in terms of fuel efficiency ""an important consideration for fleet operators.

Until early this year, when Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announced the phasing out of Qualis, the Tavera was unable to match up to the monthly sales Qualis managed. Qualis, launched in 2000, had a four-year lead over Tavera.

Though Tavera started with a modest monthly sales of 800 units in June last year, the numbers climbed to 1,824 units in January this year. This, however, was less than the 3,500-odd units a month that Qualis managed.

"But for production constraints, Tavera should have emerged as market leader in its segment by now. Even today, there is a backlog of about 3,000 units and the complete waiting list will be cleared soon with our new capacity of 60,000 units getting commissioned by early next month," said a GMI spokesperson.

Currently, Tavera has a market share of 27 per cent in its segment and it continues to grow. The car crossed the 10,000 units sales mark in January 2005.

Market was also abuzz with the possibility of a further stripped-down version of the Tavera soon hitting the Indian roads.

Though GMI officials denied any such plans, analysts said that the scope for further stripping down the Tavera cannot be ruled out and such a version would prove to be the next Qualis for the Indian fleet market.