Tata Motors suffered from product portfolio, quality and service responsiveness issues: Cyrus Mistry

New Delhi: In the latest, ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry has claimed that Tata Motors suffered issues such as legacy product portfolio, quality and service responsiveness including drag from some "legacy" passenger car product lines leading to an adverse impact on the automobile brand.

Mistry claimed that Tata Motors was struggled to launch new products in a very competitive Indian passenger vehicles market.

"Apart from product portfolio issues, Tata Motors Ltd (TML) suffered from issues relating to quality and service responsiveness, all having an adverse impact on the brand," Mistry wrote to shareholders while seeking their support.

Mistry also said the company's cash cow JLR is at a critical juncture facing "many challenges" as well as opportunities.

"During the last four years, the market has become significantly competitive, with over 5 MNCs launching over 50 new products. In this time, TML has launched only 2 new products, the Bolt and Zest, which were an evolution of the past design language," he said.

Other models such as the Manza, Vista and Safari Storme were seen as only facelifts, he added.

The existing product pipeline needed a great deal of work to ensure the company had aspirational products going into the future, Mistry said.

"Lastly we had had some legacy passenger car product lines" which had a large negative contribution and suffered from large discounts in the market place further eroding market share and brand perception," Mistry said.

Commenting on after sales and service, he said: "Apart from the product portfolio issues, TML suffered from issues relating to quality and service responsiveness, all having an adverse impact on the Brand."

In this period, major new players strengthened their position with re-engineered products specifically designed for the Indian market, he added.

On new product line up, Mistry said the Kite 5, the Hexa and a new compact SUV are expected to be launched in the near future.

On its Brtish arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Mistry said the company is at a critical juncture.

With PTI Inputs