Tata Ace maintains leadership in the 2T mini-truck segment in India

The compact truck from market leader Tata Motors continues to sway the customers as the most suitable last-mile connectivity vehicle. The company has over 66% market share in the category in April-December 2019.

The 2T mini-truck segment in India which is virtually created by Tata Motors with the introduction of its revolutionary product the Ace back in 2005, continues to be the choice of vehicles of Indian customers. The Ace range of products now has over 13 different variants catering to the diverse needs of transport applications. The success of Ace has prompted players such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Piaggio and even India’s largest PV maker Maruti Suzuki to enter this high growth market.

The 2T mini-truck segment has multiple products available for customers from various manufacturers yet the Ace range of trucks are the most popular ones, thus giving Tata Motors the undisputed leadership in the segment. In April-December 2019 period the 2T mini-truck segment recorded a total sale of 1,45,362 units, a drop of by 17% compared to the same period last year, reflecting the overall downturn in the commercial vehicle sector.

Tata Motors sold 96,271 units of Ace compact trucks in the same period with a market share of 66 percent, way ahead than its nearest competitor M&M. Thus, underlining the popularity of Ace trucks in India. Tata Motors is doing everything to retain its leadership by offering a variety of customization options as well as application-specific products to customers.

M&M which has introduced equally compelling products the-Jeeto mini truck has been able to grab market share from the market leader, as the Jeeto has been designed and developed keeping in mind the customer needs and types of vehicle preferred in the segment. Jeeto since its commercial launch has been consistently getting reasonable volume for the company, yet it isn’t a directly challenging the market leader though. In April-December 2019, M&M sold a total of 30,688 units of Jeeto truck with a 21% market share. M&M has also introduced the Jeeto plus, further expanding the Jeeto offering to customers. The company is trying hard to become a formidable challenger to the Ace range of trucks. 

Maruti Suzuki which retails its successful small truck Super Carry in the segment, has also been ramp-up the product, as a segment of the customer prefers this small truck. The company sold a total of 18,188 units during the first nine months of this fiscal year with a market share of 12%.

The competition has been catching-up for the Ace truck in recent years which has some impact on the overall market share of Tata Motors. However, due to immense popularity and huge goodwill along with proven track record kept the Ace as the leader in the segment. It a long way before the competition threatens the product's leadership. It appears the Ace small truck likely to remain a most popular truck at least for the foreseeable future, offering Tata Motors leadership in the segment.