Date:17/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/07/17/stories/2004071702190200.htm

Back Tata Motors confident of higher Sumo sales

Our Bureau

Coimbatore , July 16

THOUGH the Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV) segment is getting crowded with the entry of newer players, Tata Motors Ltd (TML) is confident of sustaining its leadership position in the segment and posting higher sales this year compared to last year, according to a senior executive.

He did not agree with the view that its MUV Sumo is an `accident-prone vehicle' and pointed out that the sheer number of vehicles sold since its launch a decade back — around 2.70 lakh vehicles — testifies to the safety of the model.

Speaking to newspersons in Coimbatore on Thursday in connection with the launch of `Sumo Victa,' the latest version of the Sumo model, Mr Rajiv Dube, Vice President - Commercial, Passenger Car Business Unit (PCBU), Tata Motors, said the company enjoyed a substantial market share in the MUV segment and it sold 28,000 Sumo vehicles during last year. This year, he expected the model to register a 10 per cent to 15 per cent growth in sales volume.