Tata Motors aims to become No. 2 carmaker by 2020

Tata Motors aims to become No. 2 carmaker by 2020Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym has prepared a road map to revive the passenger vehicle (PV) segment to enable the reclaim the second position in the car segment by 2020, a report by brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said.

According to the report, Slym has initiated a major restructuring exercise to help the PV section, which is struggling with aging brands like Indica, Sumo and Indigo, revive.

Tata Motors' domestic passenger vehicle sales remained flat at 248,068 units in the April-December period of 2012; while the commercial vehicles sales slipped 2.75 per cent to 326,245 units.

Slym said the company has designed a common vision for its commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles segments, instead of its previous norm of having separate visions for the two verticals.

To tackle the soaring competition, the car giant is focusing on introducing a proper product planning to ensure that it has right products to compete with rivals and grab a larger share of the market. In addition, the car maker is aiming to reposition its Nano car to grab a bigger share of the consumer car market. On the commercial vehicles front, the company is working towards enhancing flexibility and slashing costs to reduce the breakeven levels to 35per cent to 40 per cent.

The report said that Tata Motors management was making decisive changes become "a credible #2 player in the PV segment by 2020 and maintain market leadership in commercial vehicles".

The company has plans to invest Rs 3,000 crore per year, out of which 1,500 crore would be spent on enhancing passenger vehicles business.