1. INTRODUCTION 2. NEED OF THE STUDY 3. SCOPE OF STUDY 4.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
1

1.1

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE

As India celebrates its 50 years of independence, the passenger car industry will celebrated a centenary of its existence in India in 1998. Despite this head start, the industry has never quite matched up to the performance of its counterparts in other parts of the world. The all-pervasive atmosphere created by the government's license raj was primarily responsible for this situation. The various layers of Acts sheltered the industry from external competition and smothered the development of the Indian automobile industry. Moreover, the industry was considered low priority as cars were considered to be an "unaffordable luxury." With the liberalization of the Indian economy, the passenger car industry was finally deregulated in 1993 and many companies, both Indian and foreign, announced their plans to enter the market. The last four years have seen companies like Daewoo, Ford, GM, and Mercedes-Benz launches their cars in India. The passenger car industry notched impressive growth rates between 26-30% during the period FY 94-96 even though the economic slowdown has adversely affected the industry in FY 98 with the growth rate tricking down to 1%. Nonetheless, times have changed significantly - the days of the customer chasing the dealer to purchase poor quality cars backed by inefficient service are history. Today, the customer dictates the terms. The segmentation of the passenger car market in India is vastly different from that in the developed nations. In India, the economy segment accounts for the largest share of the cars sold, as compared to mid-range segment in the mature markets. The economy and the premium segment face the lowest competitive threats, while the premium segment will witness intense competition due to lower volumes.

1.2

PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Tata motors one of India's largest private sector companies with a turnover of over Rs 80 billions, is the country's leading commercial vehicle manufacturer and has significant presence in the multi-utility and passenger car segments. Tata motors was established on September 1, 1945, originally for the manufacture of Steam Locomotives at Jamshedpur. By 1954, the company had diversified into the manufacture of commercial vehicles in collaboration with Daimler Benz, Germany. By the time their collaboration ended in 1969, Tata motors had become an independent producer of Medium Commercial Vehicles with a great degree of indigenization. It had also developed the capability of designing, testing and manufacturing such vehicles. The widely successful Tata Indica, a Euro 2 compliant vehicle, is the countrys first indigenously designed, developed and manufactured passenger car. Tata Motors followed that up with the Tata Indigo, a sedan that was launched in December 2002. The company also makes several other passengers vehicles, including the Safari, Sumo and Sierra. The companys products have received wide acceptance not only in India but also in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America and Europe. Areas of business The company manufactures medium, heavy and light commercial vehicles, multi-utility vehicles and passenger cars. In the year ending March 2001, the companys revenues from its four manufacturing plants at three locations in India were Rs. 81.64 billion (US $ 1.73 billion). In 2000, they were Rs. 89.61 billion. (US $ 1.9 billion) {The average exchange rate has been taken as Rs 47.0 to one US dollar.} In the year ended 31 March 2001, the companys total exports were worth about Rs 7.22 billion (US $ 153.6 million), against about Rs 6.09 billion (US $ 129.5 million) in the previous year. 2

Locations The companys manufacturing plants in India are at Jamshedpur, Pimpri and Chinchwad near Pune in Maharashtra, and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Land has been acquired at Dharwad (Karnataka) to build a fifth plant. Collaborations The company has technical tie-ups with:

The Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering (IDEA), S.P.A., Italy, for assistance in small car body design and styling; and

Le Moteur Moderne, France, for the development of diesel and petrol engines for passenger cars.

Subsidiaries

Tata Construction Equipment Company Ltd. (TELCON): Its principal business is manufacture and sale of construction, material handling and earthmoving equipment.

Tata Technologies Ltd.: It oversees the IT requirements of Tata Motors and provides services for SAP implementation, CAD/CAM-based design, and e-commerce facilities to customers in India and abroad.

Sheba Properties Ltd: It is an investment and finance company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors since its inception. It is registered with RBI as a Non Banking Finance company.

Telco Dadajee Dhakjee Ltd. (TDDL): It is an investment and finance company and proposes to undertake activities pertaining to the sales and service of Tata Motorss vehicles and spare parts.

Minicar (India) Ltd.: Formerly known as Mazda Industrial Chemicals Ltd., this company was incorporated on January 18, 1972 and is currently engaged in the business of automobile sales and services.

HV Transmissions Ltd.: It was incorporated on March 13, 2000 with the objective of acquiring the Heavy-Duty Gear Box Division of Tata Motors at Jamshedpur as a going concern. It supplies transmissions and their parts to Tata Motors against purchase orders raised by Tata Motors on HVTL.

HV Axles Ltd.: It was incorporated on March 13, 2000 with the objective of acquiring the Heavy-Duty Axle Division of Tata Motors at Jamshedpur as a going concern. It supplies axles and their parts to Tata Motors against purchase orders raised by Tata Motors on HVAL.

Telco Automation Ltd.: It was incorporated on March 13, 2000 with the objective of acquiring the Machine Tool and Growth Divisions of Tata Motors as a going concern. As and when required, Tata Motors sources factory automation equipment from TAL.

Tata Technologies, USA: It was incorporated on August22, 1994 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Technologies Limited on December 22, 2000. The company is engaged in the business of computer consultancy and related services.

Strategic alliances Tata Motors has several joint ventures and alliances. These include:

Tata Cummins Ltd., a joint-venture with Cummins Engine Company Inc., USA; makes fuel-efficient, low emission, environment-friendly diesel engines;

Tata Holset Ltd., a joint-venture with Holset Engineering Company, UK, makes turbochargers for diesel engines manufactured by Tata Cummins Ltd. and other OEMs;

Concorde Motors Ltd., a joint venture with Jardine International Motors (Mauritius) for dealerships of passenger vehicles. Concorde has dealerships for Tata Motors passenger vehicles in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow.

Tata Precision Industries Pvt. Ltd., Singapore, for the manufacture and sale of high precision toolings as well as electronic and plastic components for the computer industry;

Tata Motors Services Ltd., Singapore, for the sale of spare parts for Tata vehicles; and

Nita Company Ltd., Bangladesh, for the assembly and sale of Tata commercial vehicles.

1.3

PROBLEMS OF THE ORGANIZATION

Given the city conditions, the consumers needed a very good overall performance of cars, small cars taking less space has no parking problems, easy derivability in heavy traffic conditions, easy gear shifts and good fuel efficiency. The small car owners being mostly the professional class or the upper middle class were very cost conscious and due to their busy life styles preferred low maintenance in their cars. Irrespective of these above aspects there is one more thing, which also needs attention is customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is abroad term, which includes many things like post sale service satisfaction, dealership locality towards customers, way of treatment at these dealerships and service stations, solving the customers problems and concerns to their full satisfaction and so on. The occurrence of single problem is a source of dissatisfaction for customers. Problem experience is not always something broken or loose. Many a times it is a function of customers expectation of how a feature or a vehicle system should look or perform and any performance short of this expectation is perceived as a problem.

1.4

COMPETITION INFORMATION

The main purpose of this section is to have an insight into TELCOs external environment. Here, we shall be briefly looking at the factors influencing its external environment, its competitors and the kind of competition it faces. Competition leads to improvement on all fronts. If healthy, it brings the best out of an industry. Newer and better technology, innovative and much better products and processes, user-friendly and economical products providing maximum value to customers, and other such advantages, all arise out of competition. TELCO faces stiff competition in almost all its business segments but has emerged as the winner when it comes to market success. Out of its three business segments namely, the Passenger Car division, Utility vehicle division and the Commercial vehicle division, the Passenger Car division is the area, which is seeing a lot of activity in the current period. And this activity is all set to intensify with the launch of the all-new TATA Sedan in the later half of the current year. TELCO currently has two products in the passenger car segment- the Indica and the Safari. It faces direct competition from almost all the major automobile players in the passenger segment, namely Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Fiat, Daewoo and Toyota. S.I.A.M. (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) has classified the Passenger Car segment in India into further sub segments on the basis of their length, 1. Small Car segment (B segment)

2. Entry-level Mid Size segment (lower C segment) 3. Premium Mid Size segment 4. Luxury Segment (upper C segment) (D segment)

TELCO currently has one offering in the Small Car segment- The Indica, and one offering in the Sports Utility Vehicle segment - The Safari. The proposed offering, christened the TATA Sedan shall compete in the entry-level Mid-Size Car segment. TELCO also has plans to introduce another offering in the Luxury car segment code-named Magna. The Magna shall be launched some time during the later half of next year in 2003. TELCO currently is tight-lipped about the Magna and has divulged no details regarding the car but according to group Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, the Magna shall be TELCOs answer to the Luxury Segment in India, which shall force the competitors to revamp their strategies. And if the success of the Indica and the Safari is to be believed, these words are sure to see light in the near future. The Indica comes in both diesel and petrol variants. TELCO has redefined the rules of the game by launching the all-new Indica V2, which has met with huge success in the recent months. It has earned a lot of respect among all the small car manufacturers because of its quality and value delivered to the customer, truly fulfilling its promise of More Cars per Car. TELCO, for the year 2002 had promised a product of great pedigree, and the Indica V2 has just delivered that. The Indica is directly pitted against the Zen, Alto and Wagon-R from Maruti Udyog, the Santro from Hyundai, the Palio and Uno from Fiat, and the Matiz from Daewoo. The segmentation of the passenger car market in India is vastly different from that in the developed nations. In India, the economy segment accounts for the largest share of the cars sold, as compared to mid-range segment in the mature markets. The economy and the premium segment face the lowest competitive threats, while the premium segment will witness intense competition due to lower volumes.

Range

Price ('000 Rs.)

Models Economy Maruti 800, Maruti Omni, Premier, Ambassador, Hyundai Santro

Mid-range Premium

350-450 450 - 1,000

Uno, Zen, Ford Ikon, Fiat Palio Esteem, Opel Astra, Ford Escort,

Mitsubishi Lancer, Hyundai Accent Luxury > 1,000 Opel Vectra, Rover Montego, Mercedes benz

TABLE: 1.1 Traditionally, disposable income was perceived as the one critical factor that drove passenger car demand. However, household income is no longer the single most important factor in determining the demand for vehicles. Other critical factors are the mobility needs of people and the availability of cheap finance. The top three income groups - middle, upper middle, and high - have grown from 10% in 1986 to 17% of the population and covers over 52 million families. The number of highincome households is growing very rapidly, more so in the rural areas. These findings have revolutionary implications for the passenger car market. The development of the used car market will also play a major role, as the customers will be encouraged to trade in their old cars. The key to the growth of future markets is to make maintenance-free vehicles, to improve the road infrastructure, and to reformulate fuels and lubricants so as to reduce vehicle-operating costs.

2. NEED OF THE STUDY

(a) The study is mainly focussing on to get acquainted with the market sentiments, current trends and the alternatives options. (b) The study also interprets the need of automobile for the people and what are the factors where they can influence. (c) This study is also a need of the time and also acts as a precursor of the further future car market. (d) Automobile based industries is also facing nationwide arguments on its policies. (e) So the car manufacturing is also in a need to know the market sentiments and the alternatives to these policies.

10

3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research aims at finding the attitude of people towards the different brands of cars, a conclusive research was conducted. The data collection form was designed in the form of a standard questionnaire because it is more reliable than unstructured format. In this study an effort has been to several factors which need to be taken due consideration to adhere to the advertising, sales promotion and various sales influencing factors of the automobile market.

11

5. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

In the fast changing competitive as well as economic scenario all around the world and the domestic front, the main objective of the study are:(a) The main significance of the study to analyze the strategies generally opted by dealers and to focus on the Marketing mix of TATA Motors. (b) This project is useful to know the buying behavior of car owners. (c) Examine the psychographics of small size car customers. (d) To probe the buying behavior of car owners. (e) To find people expectations or satisfaction regarding the small cars. (f) To judge the awareness level of small cars. (g) To study the promotional policies of the automobile companies. (h) Study the comparative adds promotion by tata and its competitors. (i) Basically survey on the type of promotional setback faced by their product not representing up to mark performance.

12

1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2. LIMITATIONS

13

1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection and analysis of data in a manner that to, combine relevance to research purpose with economy in procedure.Research Design is conceptual structure within which research is conducted. It constitutes the blue print of collection, measurement and analysis of date. Research Design is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of various research operations, thereby making research as efficient as possible yielding maximum information with minimum time, effort and money. Research Design stands for advance planning of methods to be used for collecting relevant data and techniques to be used in the analysis .The design helps researcher to organize his ideas whereby it will be possible for him to look for flaws and inadequacies.

Sources of Primary and Secondary data:

The major aim of the project was to analyze the Strategies of TELCO and to study the consumer-buying behavior for small car customers. For the first part secondary data was collected from various sources that included website of TELCO and trade journal that were collected from TELCOs Delhi Office. By reducing the chance or the sample to influence results through different questions and through different judgment of answers and what to record, the structured questionnaire produces more reliable results i.e. if the research project is repeated in the same manner, similar results will be obtained.

14

Most of the questions asked in the questionnaire were closed ended with a few open-ended questions also, to know consumers general views. Some questions are designed for the purpose of cross checking the sample genuineness in filling the questionnaire. For the purpose of analysis, ranking scale is used to rank the preferences of attributes of the customers. (Semantic differential scale is used to understand the images of brands of cars as perceived by the consumers. This scale is used because it permits the development of descriptive profiles that facilitates the comparison of competitive items.)

Universe : The universe is entire group of items the researchers wish to study and
about which they plan to generalize. For this, the universe consists of people of Delhi who own small car. Selecting the sample for this project, a probability sampling method is used. Probability sampling method is those in which every item in the universe has a known chance of being chosen in the sample. Here the sample size consists of 60 residents of Delhi. The probability sampling is preferred because: It is the only sampling method that provides essentially unbiased estimates having measurable precision. If the investigator requires this level of objectivity, then some variant of probability sampling is essential. The probability sampling permits the researchers to evaluate in quantitative terms, the relative efficiency of alternate sampling techniques in a given situation. Usually this is not possible in non-probability sampling. STEP IN SAMPLING PLAN :-

15

Sampling Frame: The list of sampling units from which sample is taken is called sampling frame. Jaipur city map was studied thoroughly and samples were selected from the place in a scattered manner to get effective result. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: CONVIENIENT SAMPLING SAMPLING SIZE: Total sample size is 100. The following sample size according to area wise is as follows: 20 Raapark 20 Shodila 20 Gpo, M.I Road 20 Rambagh circle 20 Tonk Road Source of data collection:Primary: For my survey primary data have been used as a questionnaire to collect the data. Secondary: The secondary data has been collected from the following modes: Magazines Newspaper Data through internet sources

16

 Data collected from organization

INTERPRETATION On the base of market research, 18-25 age customers satishfied is 2%, 26-35 age customers is satisfied 18%, 36-50 age customers is satisfied 365 & 50 above age customers is satisfied 165, That is total no of satisfied customers is 725, and unsatisfied customers is 55 (26-35 age), 36-50 unsatisfied customers is 8% and 50 above unsatisfied customers is 6% that is total no of unsatisfied customers is 19% and 18-25 age customers are not decided 1%, 26-35 age customers 2% are notdecided, 36-50 age customers are 6% are not decided, that is total 9% customers are not decided. Occupation wise: Satisfied person (%) Unsatisfied person Neither satisfied nor (%) unsatisfied (%)

Serviceman

31

Businessman Student House Total

19

10 12

5 4

2 6

72

19

INTERPRETATION On base of market research, I have find out serviceman customer are 31% satisfied 3% unsatisfied, businessman are 19% satisfied 7%unsatisfied,student are 10% satisfied & 5% students are unsatisfied, and 125 housewife are satisfied,4% housewife are unsatisfied & 6% housewife are not decided for satisfaction. 17

Facilities provided by Tata Motors Ltd.

18

Sample size Respondents: Owners of Santro Owners of Zen Owners of Indica Owners of Maruti 800 Owners of other cars 14 - 14 14 9 9

60

TABLE: 4.1

RESPONDENTS

OTHER CAR OWNERS 800 OWNERS ZEN OWNERS INDICA OWNERS SANTRO OWNERS 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

NO. OF RESPONDENTS

Interpretation
19

Most of the respondents are in an income bracket of Rs.20001 to Rs.25000 and above Rs.25000. This indicates that most of the car owners belong to either upper

of upper middle class segment. Performance of a car clearly outweighs its style and cost on the consumers list of priorities to buy a car. Performance be it engine make up, fuel efficiency in city conditions, smoothness, pick up, derivability, is consumers first preference in their look out on attributes in making a decisions for buying a car. consumers surveyed gave style and cost as their priorities to buy a car. Very few A mere

25% of respondents gave style and 30% gave cost as their reasons to buy a car. 85% of respondents i.e. 51 out of 60 respondents gave performance of a car as a factor for making a purchase decision. Out of a total of 60 respondents surveyed, 30 respondents gave performance, 7 performance and style, 11 performance and cost, 2 style, cost and performance, 4 gave style and 4 gave cost as the reasons for purchasing their car. When the consumers were asked to rank the factors, they consider being important in buying a car, ranking the factors from 1 to 7 where 1 is the highest preference rank 7, the lowest preference rank, performance of the car was ranked the highest on the preference scale. Performance, on an average of 60 respondents was ranked 1.48 showing that the consumers sought performance in a car as the first important factor in making a purchase. The car owners as the second most important factors ranking them 2.9 and 2.7 respectively considered the cost and low maintenance of a car. After sales service and brand name were the third and fourth preferences of the respondents with 3.4 and 3.86 as their respective rankings. Safety was ranked 4.35 on the preference scale and credit facility stood at the car owners lowest preference with a rank of 6.43.

20

Given the city conditions, the consumers needed a very good overall performance of cars, small cars taking less space has no parking problems, easy derivability in heavy traffic conditions, easy gear shifts and good fuel efficiency. The small car owners being mostly the professional class or the upper middle class were very cost conscious and due to their busy life styles preferred low maintenance in their cars. The small car consumers are high search information seekers, most of them using at least 3 sources of seeking the information. They believe that extensive search is necessary to make a good buy. Having owned fewest carts previously, they had very less information about the cars. The survey showed that a highest number of consumers sought friends as a source of information. Even as a majority of them went for magazines and other car

owners as a source of seeking information, a good number of consumers went to dealers for getting the information. Television as a source of information was used by less number of consumers and a very few of them went to mechanics in search of information. Most of these small car buyers being first time purchasers usually go for friends, automobile magazines or other car owners to get information about the various products and brands in the market to know the most favorable brand or products and later they seek further information from dealers and other sources once they are through their choice process and have decided upon a particular brand or brands to buy. Most of the small car consumers are happy with their purchases. A probe into

respondents satisfaction level, ranking from 1 to 5 where 1 was full satisfaction and 5 full dissatisfaction with theirs cars, gave 1.79 as an average figure of satisfaction level.

21

Out of a total of 60 respondents, 26 ranked their satisfaction level as 1, 20 ranked 2, 9 ranked 3, 2 ranked 4 and only one respondent showed null satisfaction. The main reasons which were quoted for their satisfaction were driving comfort, good fuel efficiency, small is cute, easy parking, less maintenance, good pick-up and a perfect car for a small family. Again when the consumers were asked about their preference for any other car, the highest number of respondents chose small cars, that are 20 out of 56 respondents preferred small cars, midsize cars, 16 large size cars, 5 went for jeep models and 8 consumers luxury cars like BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, etc. The main reason again given for their preference was comfort of driving, performance, good looks and fuel efficiency.

22

TABLE: 4.2

FACTORS IMPORTANT IN A CAR PURCHASE

COST 3% 3% 7% 18% 7% STYLE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE AND STYLE PERFORMANCE AND COST STYLE AND COST STYLE COST AND PERFOMANCE

12% 50%

23

FACTORS IMPORTANT IN A CAR PURCHASE 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 ATTRIBUTES

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

PERFORMANCE STYLE COST

TABLE: 4.3

24

RESPONDENTS RANKING OF ATTRIBUTES

PREFERENCE RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TABLE: 4.4 Attributes Performance Cost Low Maintenance After Sales Service Brand Name Safety Credit Facility TABLEL: 4.5 Preference Rank 1.5 2.9 2.7 3.4 3.8 4.4 6.4 Preference Points 130 102 106 92 84 72 32 PREFERENCE POINTS 140 120 100 80 60 40 20

TABLE: 4.6

25

CREDIT FACILITY PREFERENCE POINTS SAFETY BRAND NAME AFTER SALES SERVICE LOW MAINTENANCE COST PERFORMANCE 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

ATTRIBUTES

26

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
40

35

30 NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS

25

20

15

TELEVISION MAGAZINE FRIENDS DEALERS MECHANIC OTHER CAR OWNERS

10

0 1 SOURCE OF INFORMATION TABLE: 4.7

27

INFLUENCING FACTORS IN DECISION MAKING

80 70 60 50
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

40 30 20 10 0 1 INFLUENCERS

FRIENDS FAMILY MEDIA OTHERS

TABEL: 4.8

28

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength Technology and manufacturing know-how that lets Tata Motors make cars more profitably than most other carmakers. Flexible manufacturing system gives it an advantage over most of the carmakers. It requires smaller number of platforms but multiple assembly lines for production that provides better, cheaper, more oriented management and production. Research- Its R&D budget now exceeds that of Japan's No. 2, Nissan. Tata Motors spends 5% of revenues on R&D. Tata Motors possesses Goodwill and Credibility in the Indian automobile market

Weaknesses It is a new concept to be launched in the market where majority of the consumers go for family cars. Also it has not been tested in the market, therefore there is risk involved with the launch. It can't afford a wrong move on big-volume models. Tata Motors relies on Civic and Accord sedans for 55% of sales. Tata Motors is unable to spread its fixed costs for engineering, technology, and marketing over a huge volume of vehicles.

29

Opportunity It is first sports car to be launched in the Indian market; therefore it has no real competitor. According to the facts India has emerged as one of the largest automobile market in the global community. Threat A new competitor in Indian market. Price wars with competitors. A competitor like Toyota has a new, innovative product or service. Competitors may have superior access to channels of distribution. Taxation is introduced on your product or service.

30

31

LIMITATIONS
1. The time for which the project was conducted was very short. Hence the sample size was restricted to 60 only. 2. The scope of study was also restricted to the study of awareness about the consumer preferences. It could be widened to cover various others aspects of product demand. 3. As there are many competitors of Tata motors in the pvt.sector. Only 3 of its competitors products were analyzed in detail. A detailed study of all the competitors of Tata motors would have given more reliable and accurate results. 4. The area from where the sample population was selected was Delhi only. Other cities and moreover rural area was not covered under the study. 5. The primary data was collected form present and potential customers of products to evaluate their preferences. But the preferences of marketing agents were not considered which would have helped to evaluate the preferable commission sale which helps to boost product sale.

32

33

CONCLUSION
In the end, I can conclude that most of the respondents who were questioned gave importance to performance of the car. Other factors like safety, brand name, style, performane cost were not given much importance.Hereby I can say that performance matters the most.Other features are not important for the customers. Tata motors give much importance to the performance of the car and conducts surveys to know the changing needs of the customers .

34

35

RECOMMENDATIONS & SUGGESTION

STRATEGIES
To improve its market position, the company has a number of strategies at various levels. These are1. Corporate Strategies 2. Business Strategies 3. Operational Strategies

4. International Strategies

CORPORATE STRATEGIES
Corporate Strategies are strategies that the company employs at the top level, these are not concerned with areas of operation, but are concerned with achieving the strategies of the company as a whole. These help in achieving the Strategic Objectives that the company has. Globalize: With economies opening up, Tata companies are aiming for global benchmarks to compete. Be Skill Intensive: With manufacturing ceasing to be India s advantage, the thrust is on knowledge based industries. Build brands: Shift from selling commodities to marketing branded products and services that not just differentiate but fetch a premium. Leadership: To justify shareholder interest, Tata companies must be among the top three in their industries. Enhance Performance: Executives must pull their weight, and the best of them must get opportunities across functions and group companies. 36

BUSINESS STRATEGIES
Business Strategies are the strategies that Telco uses in the various areas of business that the company operates in. These strategies can be studied separately for all the segments: As we know that Telco is the leader in the commercial vehicle segment with 54% market share in Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) and 63% market share in Medium & Heavy Commercial (M & HCV). Telco has a market share of 22% in utility vehicle segment. The company has also garnered a 9% market share in the passenger car industry in a very short span. The decision of the government to ban diesel buses and give licenses to CNG buses has been a boon for TELCO as it is the major supplier of buses to all State Transport Corporations. Though only few state governments are stern in implementing this order but TELCO will remain one of the major suppliers of buses and hence can plan expansion. Telco will use GOI policy towards its benefits as depreciation norms and excise duty etc will have a bearing demand for MUVs and CVs. The implementation of infrastructure projects will have a positive impact on demand of CVs and MUVs as they are extensively used in transportation of material and people requirement of projects. The freight rates determine the revenue component of fleet owners. The improvement in freight rates consistently over this period will add to business of TELCO. Though oil prices have gone up but the shift in the oil sector companies towards a positive pricing strategy will not affect Telcos business plans & performance. Though the metropolitans have become over-crowded and but Telcos Indica V2 sales have picked up. The Company vigorously pursued a programme of product innovation in commercial vehicles with a view to regaining and improving its market share. The company had already added to its range Euro 1 Compliant Cummins Engine Powered Vehicle with a view to regaining and improving its market share. Major innovation in the current year include A 25 Tonnes Truck and a 30 Tonne Tractor Trailer 37

Fuel Efficient M&HCV Truck and Busses Powered by Companys Euro 1 Compliant 697 Engines

A Cost Effective 11 Tonnes Vehicle in both bus and truck version to meet the growing demand in this segment

A Fur Tonnes LCV fitted with an internally developed Turbo charged Engine.

OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES
These strategies are employed at the operational level, it deals with the working of the organization once the Corporate Strategies have been decided. 1. QUALITY CONTROL- the company has adopted a new philosophy of Total Quality Management. In the future it can extend this philosophy more to the suppliers and stockiest. It should also train the employees towards TQM, and adopt various policies to improve quality. 2. HR POLICIES- the company operates in a number of areas where HR is the main resource, and it should indulge into more team building exercising to improve the efficiency of its employees. 3. IMPROVE HR BASE- just recently the company has been unable to attract fresh talent to its new initiatives. The company should find attempt to lure fresh talent through initiatives such as Factory gate recruitment, more autonomy, better pay packages etc to lure fresh talent.

38

INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES
1. INVEST HEAVILY IN R&D- the main area where Telco can improve in its efforts to make an impact in the global marketplace is by improving its R&D base and bringing it up to world standards. Also Telco can get into strategic alliance with a international car manufacturer for R&D support. 2. STRATEGIC TIE-UPS- the company should attempt to tie up with some Strategic Partners, to help it gain entry into foreign markets. These partners should have competencies in the area of cost management or R&D, or these companies might be suppliers who provide inputs in the projects taken up by the company Consumers of small cars are seeking a very good overall performance in a car than any other attributes. Most of the consumers prefer Small cars and mid sized cars for their good mileage, good acceleration, easy derivability, requiring small rooms for parking. Good looks hardly count for the buyers of small cars. Again a good after sales service and low maintenance in a vehicle is a garnish on customers delight. Safety and credit facilities are almost ignored factors in purchasing a small car. Family wields the highest influencing power in making a purchase decision for an Indian consumer. Friends and media also have a good impact on decision-making. A very few consumers take a self-purchase decision.Usually consumers get detailed information through friends, magazines, other car owners and dealers whereas, they get the product information from the other sources like television, hoardings etc.The dream cars of the consumers are high luxury cars like Mercedes S-class, BMW, Ferrari, Pajero, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Porsche, the cars with a class apart when it comes to their brands images, cars which flaunt status, style, wealth and attitude of the people owning them, cars which are considered to the best on the globe.

39

LEARNING
Learning is defined as The gaining of knowledge or skill. The environment around us is constantly evolving, it is important for anyone to constantly evolve and improve. This is no different for a company, who keeps on evolving, and attempting to learn faster than its competitors. The learning-based route forward believes that route to success is adopting a flexible, emergent strategy that monitors events in the environment and reacts to them in the best possible way. Telco has adopted a learning route forward, it has showed that it reacts well to market changes and various events; its strategy has always evolved according to these changes. Seeing the opening up of the market, and the growth of the infrastructure, the company decided to look for alliance partners, to come up to world-standards. In the future Telco should continue to learn and evolve into a world-class company, and make changes that will help it achieve its goals in the best possible way.

40

41

QUESTIONNAIRE
A survey of consumer perception about small cars Personal details: Name: No. of members in family: Monthly household income: 1. Do you own (Please Tick?) Car or a 2 wheeler

2. If you do own a car Name Model Color 3. Are you satisfied with it? 4. How much do you spend on maintenance on a monthly basis? 5. Name some cars in the small car segment in India 6. Can you relate the following cars to their ads Zen Indica Santro

7. Rate the following (I to II) attributes according to you preferences while buying a new car Price

42

Looks Safety features Interiors Value added accessories Color Stability while driving Low maintenance costs Fuel efficiency Boot space Gear box

8. Comment on the following statements according top the tables given below 1 strongly agree 2- Agree 3-neither agree nor disagree 4-disagree 5- Strongly disagree

Indica, being the only indigenously made car is preferred by me Santro has the most effective AC Zen has the jazziest and outgoing colors
9. Rate the following cars as per your perception on the basis of the attributes specified (5 excellent to 1 poor) Indica Santro Zen Sales and services 43

Price Fuel efficiency Smooth and stable ride Up market status Luxury Value for money Looks Financing facility Comfort Safety

10. When are you planning to buy the next car? One month later Within six months 6 months later No such plans 11. Which one? 12. Why? 13. Comment on the following cars as to how can there be any improvements Indica Santro Zen

44

45

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference books: Mowen c. John Consumer Behavior Macmillian publication 6 th edition Tull & Hawkins Market Research Pearson publication 7 th edition Internet: http://www.tata.com/0_careers/our_people/20020214_suman1.htm http://www.tata.com/0_b_sectors/index.htm http://www.cybersteering.com/auto_makers/telco/tata.html http://www.tata.com/tata_engg/index.htm http://www.tatainternational.com/automob_products.asp http://www.tata.com/tata_engg/articles/index.htm http://www.telcoindia.com/home.htm http://www.tata.com/tata_engg/media/20020228.htm http://www.tata.com/tata_engg/articles/2000106051indica2.htm http://www.tata.com/tcs/articles/20011110_auto_engg_service(1).htm www.marutiudyog.com www.hyudaimotorindia.com www.autoweb.com

Magzines Business today News Papers Economic Times Business line 46