)
Home-grown auto major Tata Motors is gearing up to expand its commercial vehicle business in South India, a stronghold of Ashok Leyland, by adding 15 showrooms and 70 semi-mobile workshops.
The company, which at present has 34 dealers in four states in South India -- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala -- is focusing on expanding network in smaller towns.
"South India is a large market for commercial vehicles as the road network is well developed in the region. As we are the market leaders in the country, it is important for us to strengthen our position in this market as well," Tata Motors Senior Vice President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, R Ramakrishnan told PTI.
As part of the expansion plan, the company will improve its presence in towns with a population of around 50,000 in order to cater to the demand for its small commercial vehicles, like Ace and Magic.
"We are focusing on small commercial vehicle segment. We want to penetrate in towns with population of around 50,000 with these small CVs," Ramakrishnan said.
At present, North India leads in sales of commercial vehicles for Tata Motors, followed by western, south and eastern markets. Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyland dominates the South Indian market.
In order to consolidate its presence in the region, Tata Motors is also looking at various measures, including modernising its dealerships and introducing semi-mobile workshops for its customers.
"In order to cater to customers who own trucks, tippers and buses, we have come with semi-mobile workshops. We have containers with tools and equipment, which could be moved to any area where our customer is located," Ramakrishnan said.
Tata Motors has 55 such workshops in the region.
"We plan to take this number to 125 in South India and nationally from 240 to 400 in near future," Ramakrishnan said.
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company by revenue and had consolidated sales of Rs 2,60,734.33 crore in 2014-15. It sells a range of CVs, from Ace Zip to Prima range of heavy trucks.
