Is Tata Motors Trying To Kill Safari Storme?

[ISO2015]

After long time TATA has brought meager 2018 update to the Storme for the festive season i.e. 17" alloy wheels.

Recently Storme has vanished from the print ads and only Hexa is shown. Storme was vanished from the showroom long before. There is no test drive. Also wrong information is given by the sell that 'Updated safari is coming". Harrier is not updated Storme.

Despite of all these suffocations 497 storms were sold for the month September 2018.

With all the hype, various updates and marketing Hexa is not doing well and sell is pathetic and declining every coming months.

 

[littleman]

I bought Safari Storme in August 2018 in Chennai. None of the Tata Motors dealerships in Chennai had test drive vehicle or display vehicle, nay dealers were not sure it was still being manufactured!. I read lot of online reviews before plunging into purchasing new Storme VX 4x2 Varicor 400. Well, I think the reason for not promoting Safari Storme might have low profit margin as it is a bare bone no frills car. A C2 top end sedan is well into 16 lakh plus, compare this with Safari Storme which has 2.2 litre engine, wider, taller, longer and heavier body, all disc brakes in VX, dual AC, wider tyres, powerful battery, suspension, shock absorber, chassis and other components built to withstand 2+ ton behemoth and the list goes on. Tata would have already spent enough to justify its 16 lakh plus on-road price tag. Selling more cars with this price may not be viable commercially and there might be no takers if they hike the price. Hence Tata apparently is not interested to sell this car and rather they push customer to buy Hexa which has 4 lakh premium with only additional blings like touchscreen ICE, leather seats, MID and proper 3rd row.

 

[ISO2015]

I bought Safari Storme in August 2018 in Chennai. None of the Tata Motors dealerships in Chennai had test drive vehicle or display vehicle, nay dealers were not sure it was still being manufactured!. I read lot of online reviews before plunging into purchasing new Storme VX 4x2 Varicor 400. Well, I think the reason for not promoting Safari Storme might have low profit margin as it is a bare bone no frills car. A C2 top end sedan is well into 16 lakh plus, compare this with Safari Storme which has 2.2 litre engine, wider, taller, longer and heavier body, all disc brakes in VX, dual AC, wider tyres, powerful battery, suspension, shock absorber, chassis and other components built to withstand 2+ ton behemoth and the list goes on. Tata would have already spent enough to justify its 16 lakh plus on-road price tag. Selling more cars with this price may not be viable commercially and there might be no takers if they hike the price. Hence Tata apparently is not interested to sell this car and rather they push customer to buy Hexa which has 4 lakh premium with only additional blings like touchscreen ICE, leather seats, MID and proper 3rd row.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes this could be one of the reason why TATA is not promoting Storme.

November 2018 sale
Storme = 457
Hexa = 487

Gap is narrowing. Shame on you TATA that you are not promoting very capable proper butch looking SUV.

 

[littleman]

Storme is a value for money car compared to Hexa besides it has the butch look which is essential to a buyer who wants proper SUV. No wonder why TML hides Storme in a bid to sell more Hexa

 

[Nanofreak]

I bought Safari Storme in August 2018 in Chennai. None of the Tata Motors dealerships in Chennai had test drive vehicle or display vehicle, nay dealers were not sure it was still being manufactured!. I read lot of online reviews before plunging into purchasing new Storme VX 4x2 Varicor 400. Well, I think the reason for not promoting Safari Storme might have low profit margin as it is a bare bone no frills car. A C2 top end sedan is well into 16 lakh plus, compare this with Safari Storme which has 2.2 litre engine, wider, taller, longer and heavier body, all disc brakes in VX, dual AC, wider tyres, powerful battery, suspension, shock absorber, chassis and other components built to withstand 2+ ton behemoth and the list goes on. Tata would have already spent enough to justify its 16 lakh plus on-road price tag. Selling more cars with this price may not be viable commercially and there might be no takers if they hike the price. Hence Tata apparently is not interested to sell this car and rather they push customer to buy Hexa which has 4 lakh premium with only additional blings like touchscreen ICE, leather seats, MID and proper 3rd row.

Congrats on your behemoth, let's hope to see pictures of your truck, and a brief review.

Enjoy your ride.

 

[littleman]

Teaser for now...detailed review soon..

 

[ISO2015]

WOW! look so handsome. It is a well proportionate timeless design.

Now a days hatchbacks on steroid cost north side of 12L I happen to take back to back test drive of new Swift and Brezza. Steering/braking feels so vague compared to Safari. Alone steering and all disc braking and super light clutch performance justify cost of Safari.

 

[jagrover]

Safari rendering by Cartoq . Looks good IMHO

 

[ccprakash]

Some how its not having the old safari/Storme charm. Its looking more like an mpv... is it me only..?

 

[littleman]

It is not Tata's official picture, I think it is an imaginary design by someone.

 

[ISO2015]

Wonder of wonders.
January sell
Safari Storme = 439
Hexa = 309

Safari sold more than Hexa despite of absolutely zero marketing support from TATA.

I was curious, how Harrier will have impact on the Safari and Hexa? Social media predicted (or criticized) that Harrier will sell Hexa more because Hexa has 4 x 4 and AUTO option. But in reality Hexa is affected and Safari seem unaffected.

Hexa crowns TOP LOOSERS (-54.69% MOM) award

TATA wakeup. Safari can sell in three digits number by...
1. Providing airbags on EX.
2. Touch screen with navigation.
3. Multi drive modes
4. Rear camera support
5. Auto rain/headlight sensor etc etc.

 

[littleman]

Wonder of wonders.
January sell
Safari Storme = 439
Hexa = 309

Safari sold more than Hexa despite of absolutely zero marketing support from TATA.

I was curious, how Harrier will have impact on the Safari and Hexa? Social media predicted (or criticized) that Harrier will sell Hexa more because Hexa has 4 x 4 and AUTO option. But in reality Hexa is affected and Safari seem unaffected.

I expected such poor results for Hexa sooner than later especially since Hexa is being stripped of its features one by one. Mahindra positions its products brilliantly between two price segments (eg., Marazzo is between Ertiga and Crysta) whereas Hexa is way too close to Crysta, the segment leader. There is nothing wrong in Hexa as a product per se., but Indians are reluctant to try something new when tried and tested product is available unless there is significant price difference. Harrier too, I am afraid will face the same fate as XUV 300 might lure the target customers.

Meanwhile Storme is unaffected in its stride as its a unique uncomparable product. Alas, its manufacturer seems to have abandoned it. A little tweak would do wonders for Tata Motors

 

[ISO2015]

I expected such poor results for Hexa sooner than later especially since Hexa is being stripped of its features one by one. Mahindra positions its products brilliantly between two price segments (eg., Marazzo is between Ertiga and Crysta) whereas Hexa is way too close to Crysta, the segment leader. There is nothing wrong in Hexa as a product per se., but Indians are reluctant to try something new when tried and tested product is available unless there is significant price difference. Harrier too, I am afraid will face the same fate as XUV 300 might lure the target customers.

Meanwhile Storme is unaffected in its stride as its a unique uncomparable product. Alas, its manufacturer seems to have abandoned it. A little tweak would do wonders for Tata Motors

+1
TATA made mistake with Hexa by positioning it as MPV and SUV. It neither have butch look of Safari nor commanding driving position. Also people finding it cumbersome to manuever in the urban traffic. Look at Marazzo how brilliantly it is positioned as pure MPV now selling excess of 3K.

Technically Stome is much superior product than Juggad kind of Scorpio but it is selling more purely due to marketing skill of Mahindra.

 

[jagrover]

Wonder of wonders.
January sell
Safari Storme = 439
Hexa = 309

Safari sold more than Hexa despite of absolutely zero marketing support from TATA.

I was curious, how Harrier will have impact on the Safari and Hexa? Social media predicted (or criticized) that Harrier will sell Hexa more because Hexa has 4 x 4 and AUTO option. But in reality Hexa is affected and Safari seem unaffected.

Hexa crowns TOP LOOSERS (-54.69% MOM) award

TATA wakeup. Safari can sell in three digits number by...
1. Providing airbags on EX.
2. Touch screen with navigation.
3. Multi drive modes
4. Rear camera support
5. Auto rain/headlight sensor etc etc.

People waited for Harrier, reviews poured in and now people have a better picture of what the two products stands for. Dip in Hexa sales is temporary IMHO. It will definitely bounce back sooner than later since some people started saying "Hey. Look now Hexa seems to be more VFM due to X,Y, Z etc than Harrier". If it is the contrary then TML got it right with the Harrier - People want SUV stature than Crossover utility which Harrier offers in abundance.

 

[littleman]

Once again Safari Storme has proved its worth...

Feb 2019 sales
Storme - 443
Hexa - 280

Hexa's sales has declined drastically ever since Marazzo was launched. Storme is in its own league in the era of pseudo SUVs. With no big updates, nil advertisements, no demo car, no display at showrooms it holds its line pretty well over years. It is pity that the management of TML has failed to appreciate the product for whatever reason. If they add little more features they will sell like hot cakes.