Tata Motors expects its passenger vehicle (PV) sales to grow faster than the industry in FY26, supported by a strong pipeline of new launches and model upgrades. The company on Thursday unveiled the refreshed Altroz to reinforce its position in the premium hatchback segment. It also plans to launch the Harrier.ev next month, followed by the much-anticipated Sierra SUV later this year.

“The overall PV industry is projected to grow by just 4 to 5 per cent this fiscal. However, for us, this will be a year of launches. After a relatively quiet few years, we expect to significantly outpace industry growth,” said Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, in an interview with The New Indian Express. Tata Motors is targeting a 25 per cent share in the premium hatchback segment.

Passenger vehicle sales in India grew modestly in FY25. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), retail PV sales rose 4.9 per cent to 4.15 million units from 3.96 million units in FY24. Tata Motors’ own retail volumes declined slightly to 535,960 units in FY25 from 539,567 units the year before.

Looking ahead, the company plans to deepen its domestic retail footprint and expand its global presence in FY26. “We’ve re-entered Sri Lanka, launched in Mauritius, and plan to explore 4–5 more international markets in the coming year,” Srivatsa added.

He also highlighted the importance of the premium hatchback segment, which contributes around 30–32 per cent of the hatchback category, translating to annual volumes of 3.5–4 million units. While the overall hatchback segment has seen contraction, premium offerings continue to grow.

Tata Motors’ share in the premium hatchback space declined from 25 per cent in FY24 due to a lack of updates, Srivatsa acknowledged. “Our competitors launched full model upgrades, while we prioritised our SUV range. This cost us. We’re now confident that the revamped Altroz will help us double our market share in this segment.”

Altroz sales had dropped to 2,000–2,500 units per month, down from a peak of around 6,000. Competing with segment leaders like Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai i20, the updated Altroz is priced between Rs 689,000 and Rs 1.13 million, across petrol, diesel, and CNG variants.

“Premium hatchbacks remain the largest sub-segment within hatchbacks. Over the last three years, more than 1 million premium hatchbacks have been sold. With the number of high-income households expected to double by 2030—reaching an estimated 65 million with annual incomes over Rs 1.5 million—the outlook for this segment remains robust,” said Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.

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