“The facelifted Tata Punch really explores the limits of what the car can do,” says Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer, TPEM

We spoke to Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer at TPEM, about the facelifted Tata Punch, its new turbo petrol variant, changing buyer preferences, and the car’s potential in international markets.

On the turbo-petrol engines and buyer profile

Vivek Srivatsa said the new turbo petrol variant caters to a wider audience. He explained, “The Punch is based on alpha architecture. It's one of the most capable small car architectures. And we thought let's really explore the limit of what it can do. You will drive it soon. It's extremely enjoyable but it also brings that level of functionality.” He added, “The turbocharged engine will give them that additional drivability. So it's also democratizing that power and drivability to the first-time car buyer.”

On price overlap with the Nexon and product differentiation

When asked about the overlap between the top-spec Punch and mid-spec Nexon, Srivatsa said, “There is a typical buyer profile for each of our products and increasingly we are trying to understand that profile well and cater to them. All the changes you see in the Punch is focused on the Punch buyer, which is largely either a first-time car buyer or an additional car buyer who's got a larger car but uses this more for city, small shorter drives.” He added, “We always feel that once a customer comes to a showroom, give them different choices so that they can choose the car that they feel is right for them.”

On CNG adoption and alternate fuels

Talking about CNG adoption, Srivatsa stated, “CNG take rate has gone up. Earlier CNG market used to be very typical in CR Bombay, Gujarat, but now Rajasthan is picking up, south is picking up. Consumers view CNG as the first step towards alternate fuel, which is not too big a change for them technologically or behaviorally.” He also noted, “CNG penetration is going up and becoming the largest selling fuel option is some time away.”

On the consumer behavior and fuel choice

Srivatsa explained how buyers evaluate different fuel options, saying, “Consumer behavior has become like this, where they come looking for a Punch and then they evaluate different fuel options and go with what they intend to buy. 50% of Punch sales are petrol. Most of them end up buying the petrol, but an increasing number of people are going towards a CNG or an EV and now maybe CNG AMT also. In terms of preference: Petrol, CNG, and EV.”

On Safety, tech and value for money

On first-time buyer expectations, he said, “Consumers want everything: safety, sunroof, connectivity, great music system, large touchscreen, rearview cameras, etc., but they don't want to pay more. Indian consumers are very smart. They are able to evaluate value very quickly, and they are right also. Their expectations are going up with modern times, but they are not saying that I'm going to pay very high for this. If we have to survive in the market, we have to cater to this customer.”

On the global aspirations

Asked about international expansion, Srivatsa said, “100% of our production capacity we're already exporting it to South Africa, and it's doing pretty well there. Latin America not yet due to technical reasons, but all RSD markets are currently very much in the pipeline.”