60% Punch customers are first-time car buyers: Tata Motors' Mohan Savarkar

Over 60% of customers of Tata Motors' sub-compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Punch are first-time car buyers, according to Mohan Savarkar, chief product officer and vice-president of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.

Tata Punch pulled ahead of rivals including Maruti Suzuki’s WagonR to top the sales charts this year. Tata sold 142,072 units of Punch in the first eight months of 2024, making it India’s top-selling car.

Priced between ₹6.12 lakh and ₹10 lakh, Punch comes in petrol and compressed natural gas (CNG) variants. Its electric version, Punch.ev, is priced from ₹9.99 lakh to ₹14.29 lakh.

The sub-compact SUV segment witnessed exponential growth of 75% year-on-year with Tata Punch leading the pack in FY24, capturing a 68% market share in the segment. In contrast, Punch rival Hyundai Exter hasn't been a runaway success. The Exter is yet to make it on the top 10 best-selling car list. India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki doesn't have any sub-compact SUV in its portfolio yet.

When asked about the reasons behind Punch's strong demand in the sub-compact SUV segment, Savarkar says most buyers of Punch are people who have started looking at car ownership as the next step in their lives. “There are a few buyers who want to upgrade their existing vehicle but still would like to stay in a small car because of the place they live in and driving conditions they face,” he says.

Often dubbed as a ‘micro SUV’ for its relatively higher ground clearance, Punch is 3,827 mm in length. “It’s a complete package in the sense it has a very good mix of what a customer would need from a car. Be it the body style of an SUV that people would like to own, but it should be small enough to go into any place in the city. People driving it feel they are in an SUV with a high seating position and good visibility all around. That has helped a lot,” says Savarkar.

Another factor that has aided sales of Punch is the availability of multiple powertrains. “We have a multi-powertrain strategy: gasoline, CNG, and EV. People generally buy a car after considering its utility but powertrain is a choice they make based on what they do with the car,” says Savarkar. “With multiple powertrains that are available, people have this choice. We have seen that this is something that's working very well for Punch,” he says.

The addition of the CNG variant last year further bolstered sales, contributing to 30% incremental growth. Punch.ev contributed an additional 15% to Punch's overall sales growth with 21% of these buyers being first-time car owners.

Punch’s petrol variant contributes 53% to total sales, followed by 33% by its CNG variant and 14% by its EV variant as of July 2024.

Launched in October 2021, Tata Punch was the first car to create the sub-compact SUV category. It became the fastest to cross the 4 lakh sales milestone among SUVs in 34 months.

In terms of safety, Punch is rated five stars for adult occupant protection and four stars for child occupant protection in Global NCAP’s test. Its EV version bagged five stars in Bharat NCAP safety ratings.