The auto industry has been going through a phase of slowdown in the recent past and this has also hit Tata Motors as the sales for Hexa SUV among other models have come down. This fall in sales paired with the upcoming launch of Cassini 7-seater SUV from the brand fuelled the speculation on the internet that the brand is about to discontinue the Hexa in Indian market. However, the Indian maker has come out with an official statement and has rubbished the claims that had been doing rounds on the internet recently.
An excerpt from the official communication of Tata Motors,
Hexa is a product we are extremely proud of as it encapsulated the cream of our Engineering prowess and Styling skills. The love and passion of Hexa owners towards the car is invaluable for us, as it endorses the sheer multifaceted performance of the car. The recent articles on the discontinuation of the product are purely speculative and no official statement on the same has been issued by Tata Motors. However, we would like to clarify that each and every Hexa customer is important to us and we are firmly looking at expanding the HEXA brotherhood.
A closer look at the statement will bring forth the information that the brand is not confirming that the Hexa is being discontinued as of now. The ‘discontinuation of the product are purely speculative and no official statement on the same’ neither confirms nor denies the fact that the company will discontinue the Hexa say 4 months down the line. The sales of Hexa have plummeted as much as by 67% for the first 6 months of 2019 when compared to the sales of 2018 for the same period. It is a trend among the makers to rubbish claims of discontinuation to prevent stock pile-up. The company may be using the same tactic here as well.
Taking the case of other models from the brand like Sumo or Nano, Tata Motors never issued a widespread official communication regarding the discontinuation of models by the brand. On the contrary, the fact that Tata Motors is gearing up to launch the 7-seater premium SUV Cassini has been not only confirmed but endorsed by the brand. The launch of Cassini along with existing Harrier and Hexa will mean that the brand will have 3 products in the premium SUV range. As of now, there are price overlaps between the Harrier and Hexa, and with the launch of Cassini SUV, the price overlaps will only increase. This would indeed lead to cannibalisation of sales among the SUVs. It only makes financial sense to discontinue a slow selling product and focus on the new SUV. However, with the recent statement on Hexa, Tata neither confirms nor denies the discontinuation claims and Hexa still may or may not be discontinued. Only time and launch of Cassini will further clarify the matter.
