Tata Motors expects passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales to maintain its growth momentum in the current quarter, driven by year-end demand, according to a top company executive.

According to FADA data, festive demand helped PV retail sales rise 32% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 4,83,159 units in October.

The segment recorded a 7% year-on-year increase at 6,03,009 units during the 42 days of the festival this year.

In September, retail sales of photovoltaic panels saw a decline of 19 percent to 2,75,681 units.

The Mumbai-based auto giant saw its PV volumes decline 6% year-on-year to 1,30,500 units in the July-September period, hit by lukewarm demand.

“In the third quarter, we expect retail to be strong, driven by year-end festivities and demand. The sector’s wholesale trade could be lower than that of retail, in order to reduce channel inventories ahead of the new calendar year. ” said Shailesh Chandra, general manager of passenger vehicles at Tata Motors, in a call with an analyst.

The automaker, for its part, will focus on significant retail growth through the launch of new models, which will also be supported by marketing campaigns, it said.

Tata Motors plans to roll out with various models including Harrier EV and Sierra EV along with other model upgrades over the next two years.

“Over the next two financial years, we should start to achieve a penetration level of around 70 percent. And we said 80 percent by FY30 is what we’ve committed to. This will, of course, include some white space products, but that’s not something we can share at this point,” Chandra said.

In terms of sales network, he noted that the automaker has sharply reduced its shipments to dealerships.

Strong retail sales in October allowed the automaker to significantly reduce inventory levels at the majority of its dealerships to less than 30 days, Chandra said.

With reduced inventory, financial costs would have reduced significantly for dealers, he added.

Chandra said the company will continue its efforts regarding the integration of electric vehicles with targeted actions on market development and the ecosystem.

“We will continue to intensify cost reduction efforts to maintain profitability in an environment of intensifying competition,” Chandra said.

Elaborating on the commercial vehicle sector, Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh said the automaker expects a gradual increase in infrastructure spending to boost consumption and improve demand in the future.

“October was a pretty good month with a marginal increase on a year-on-year basis. Within trucks and buses, we will continue to introduce new variants, drive our value-added sales program, of course improving the sales propositions. value offered to the customer.” » he declared.

On small utility vehicles, where the automaker faces volume issues, it is working on a three-pronged program, Wagh said.