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Tata Motors Joins Single-Digit Industry Growth Projections In FY24

Tata Motor's estimates are not far from Maruti Suzuki's projection of 41 lakh unit industry sales in FY24, a growth of 7–7.5%.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Tilt up of a Tata Motors showroom. (Photo: Usha Kunji/ BQ Prime)</p></div>
Tilt up of a Tata Motors showroom. (Photo: Usha Kunji/ BQ Prime)

Tata Motors Ltd. has joined the country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., in projecting single-digit volume growth for the auto industry in the coming financial year.

"We largely expect it (growth) to be in the 8–10% range, not much more than that at this point in time," Rajan Amba, vice president of sales and marketing at Tata Motors' passenger vehicle arm, said on the sidelines of AutoExpo 2023. "A lot will, of course, depend on how the commodity prices move and the impact of BS-VI phase-2 emission norms implementation on pricing."

The automaker's estimates are not far from Maruti Suzuki's projection of 41 lakh unit industry sales in FY24, a growth of 7–7.5%.

This projection indicates a slowdown in industry growth compared with the current year.

The auto industry is expected to close the ongoing financial year with strong growth in double digits, powered by robust demand and an easing shortage of semiconductors. The growth also came on a low base, as a chip shortage reduced the supply of vehicles last fiscal.

Lower growth rates may be fueled once more by higher-priced vehicles, as new emission standards are expected to make smaller vehicles even more expensive.

The smaller hatchbacks have remained a stressed segment for the auto industry as buyers' income levels have not gone up as much as the costs, making these cars unaffordable for a large population.

"This whole year has been about premium vehicles and that's where most of the growth has come from, the growth has not come from the lower end of the spectrum, which is invariably going to become more expensive from BS-VI phase-2," Amba told BQ Prime.

Combined with the ballooning pending bookings with the automakers, the single-digit growth paints an even grimmer picture for the industry in the coming months.

Maruti Suzuki, with more than 40% market share to its name, has over 350,000 pending bookings. And the bookings have only risen as the months have gone by, with semiconductors still in short supply.

Watch the interview below: