From EV push to dealer blitz: How Tata Motors aims to reshape India’s auto hierarchy by 2031

At long last, Tata Motors seems to have put together a game plan that could work.

The Mumbai-headquartered automaker, which has been fighting it out with Korean automotive giant Hyundai and homegrown carmaker Mahindra to become India’s second-largest carmaker, is now readying itself for the long haul and gearing up to corner 20 percent of the domestic market in the next five years.

Last week, the company laid out a five-year roadmap that will see it target 15% volume growth and achieve 5-6% growth in market share. Alongside a structural cost reduction, which will reduce costs by 5-6 percent, the company hopes to free up cash flow by over Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years.

To do that, Tata Motors will launch six new vehicles and over 20 refreshes, along with a multi-powertrain approach, with the bulk of its incremental volumes coming from electric and CNG powertrains. Then, there is also a plan to ramp up its dealer network to 3,200 outlets from 1,669 currently, and to increase the number of service centers to over 3,000 from 1,211 now.

The multi-power-train approach is critical at a time when questions have frequently been raised about India’s ethanol blending program, and with automakers having shelved diesel for gasoline. Tata Motors, though, offers everything from diesel and petrol to CNG and even electric vehicles, and is already the country’s largest electric vehicle maker.

“Our aspirations remain strong,” Shailesh Chandra, the managing director and CEO of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said. “We are building towards sustained growth momentum and 20% market share over the next phase of growth.”

The last fiscal saw Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles deliver its strongest-ever year, selling over 6.4 lakh units, almost five times its figures in 2020, and in the process becoming the second largest carmaker in the country. In the fast-growing EV segment, Tata Motors has a market share of around 40 percent.

While Maruti Suzuki remains the largest carmaker by volume, the second spot has been seesawing among Tata, Mahindra, and Hyundai. The Indian passenger vehicle market is currently projected to reach 6.4 million units by FY31 at a 6-7% CAGR, with the median selling price rising from Rs 11-12 lakh today to around Rs 15 lakh, according to brokerage firm ICICI Direct. “SUVs will constitute 60%+ of the market,” ICICI says. “By FY31, 45%+ of the industry will be CNG and EV, with EV penetration reaching 15-20%. Gen Z becomes a dominant buyer cohort, driving demand for design, tech, and digital journeys.”

Multi-power-train approach

That’s also why Tatas are gearing up for their big play on the multi-power train approach.

In the EV segment, the company already has an expansive portfolio, covering price points from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 29 lakh. “TMPV plans to expand its EV portfolio into white spaces and premium segments, with 4 additional EV products over the next 5 years, including the upcoming Sierra EV and Avinya, along with over 10 facelifts,” brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said in a report. “Beyond portfolio expansion, TMPV is focused on cost and technology edge, along with ecosystem actions such as Tata.ev charging.”

All that means the company is on track to reach 30% EV adoption by FY31, a figure that was once the Indian government's target for electrification.  “These product interventions are expected to take place on the premium side, which coincides with the scenario where overall demand for the sub Rs 10 lakh cars is declining,” Motilal Oswal says. “This also augurs well with TMPV being able to cater to a bigger profit pool, as profitability in the higher-end EV is at par or superior to its ICE counterparts.”

On June 30, Tata Motors is all set to announce the prices of the new Sierra EV in the country tomorrow. The Tata Sierra, which the group brought back after nearly three decades, was a runaway hit, with bookings exceeding 100,000, and has given the automaker a product to compete in the fast-growing mid-size SUV segment, dominated by the Hyundai Creta.

Earlier this year, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles signed a deal with global automaker Stellantis to explore deeper collaboration across manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain operations.

Meanwhile, it’s not just in the domestic business that the automaker has made serious plans. Jaguar Land Rover has announced a broader powertrain strategy under which Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery will offer internal combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric variants, while Jaguar will remain an exclusively electric brand, with the launch of the Type 01 scheduled for October 2026.

“India’s PV business performance has seen a marked improvement over the last few quarters,” Motilal Oswal notes. “TMPV’s Indian PV business has done well to improve its share by 40bp to 13.6% for FY26. While management expects the industry to post 10% volume growth in FY27, it remains confident of outperforming that growth on the back of its healthy new-launch pipeline. The company intends to launch two new nameplates and four variant launches in FY27. Overall, we expect the Indian business to post a steady 8% volume CAGR over FY26-28E.”