Tata Motors commands a 50% share of the market for buses in India. They are expanding their portfolio by launching a luxury AC coach which they have name Divo. Some might claim that it has been so named as to rhyme with Volvo who would be their main competetors in the segment. The prototypes are ready and undergoing trials on Indian roads. The company expects the coaches meant for intercity long distance operations to roll out in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
Ashish Tandon of Tata Motors is confident about competing successfully in the Indian market as they would be providing an international product at Indian prices. They will have an edge in terms of prices over their competitors. Divo has been styled by the company’s fully owned subsidiary Hispano Corracera, a Spanish bodybuilding company. The coach is powered by a 285 horse power Cummins engine and is BS-III compliant. Tandon was talking on the sidelines of the Bus and Special Vehicles Expo (BSVE)-2011.
The size of the AC coach market is not very large at about 500 vehicles per year. Tata Motors have taken an ambitious target of 300 vehicles per year. For the first year they are aiming for 100 vehicle but hope to achieve the 300 figure from the second year of operations. Meanwhile Volvo Buses India Private Limited is talking about a hybrid bus though they feel the Indian market is not ready for it right now.
