India-based carmaker PT Tata Motors Indonesia is entering the Indonesian automotive market, which is dominated by Japanese cars, with its three models.

The three models are Tata Vista for the hatchback segment, multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Tata Aria, and sport utility vehicle (SUV) Tata Safari Storme.

'€œSince we made the announcement to enter this market a year back, we have tested various products across Indonesian terrains and are convinced that we are bringing the right product mix,'€ Tata Motors Ltd. managing director Karl Slym said in a press statement issued on Tuesday, when the products were launched.

The launch was only a day after PT Astra Daihatsu Motor and PT Toyota Astra Motor introduced their '€œlow-cost green cars'€ (LCGC), Ayla and Agya, respectively. Both run on a 1,000-cubic centimeter (cc) engine.

Daihatsu and Toyota, both subsidiaries of Indonesia'€™s largest automotive distributor PT Astra International, together control around half of the domestic automotive market through their Japanese car brands.

In the hatchback segment, the 1,400-cc Tata Vista might see the two LCGCs, which come at lower prices, as well as the 1,500-cc Honda Jazz and the 1,500-cc Toyota Yaris, as other players.

The Tata Vista is priced at Rp 129.9 million (US$11,655), while Daihatsu Ayla and Toyota Agya are sold for Rp 76 million and Rp 99 million, respectively. In the meantime, the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz variants are sold for around Rp 200 million.

'€œWe are not competing with the LCGCs,'€ said Buswadev Sengupta, president director of PT Tata Motors Indonesia, the Indonesian unit of Tata Motors Ltd., on Tuesday during the launch, referring to the Agya and Ayla.

'€œIt depends on consumers. If consumers want to go for smaller cars, they will buy the LCGCs, but if they need a bigger car, they will buy the Tata Vista,'€ he added.

Tata Motors will also compete with a number of Japanese brands in the MPV and SUV segments with its 2,200-cc Tata Aria, which is sold for Rp 249.9 million, and 2,200-cc Tata Safari Storme, which is priced at Rp 279.9 million.

In an attempt to grab a slice of the cake, the company offers a program customized for Indonesia by ensuring consumers will get spare parts within 24 hours when needed, or they will get them for free.

Tata Motors would also offer a five-year warranty, or 100,000 kilometers in distance, instead of three years as many auto dealers commonly apply, Sengupta said.

'€œIt is hard to reach 100,000 kilometers within three years in Indonesia,'€ he said.

Without exposing its sales target, Tata Motors planned to strengthen its infrastructure by adding more dealerships, said PT Tata Motors Distribution Indonesia distribution and marketing director Pankaj Jain.

About five new dealerships would be opened later this week in Cikarang and Bekasi, West Java, in Tangerang, Banten, in Malang, East Java, and in Denpasar, Bali, said Jain. At present Tata Motors already owns two dealerships in Jakarta, one in Surabaya, East Java, and the other in Surakarta, Central Java. It has targeted to have 15 dealerships operating by March 2014 in Java and Bali, according to Jain.

The company would expand to Sumatra and Kalimantan next year as well, but it needed time to prepare the 24 hour spare parts service on the two islands, Sengupta told reporters after the launch.

In the near future, Tata Motors will launch more products including its commercial vehicles, busses, trucks and the world'€™s cheapest car Tata Nano, said Sengupta.

The parent company of PT Tata Motors Indonesia, Tata Motors Ltd., acquired Korean truck producer Daewoo in 2004 and British luxury car maker Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008. The Indian firm was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004. (nai)

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