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Tata Motors has appointed Pinaki Haldar as Vice President and Business Head of the Small Commercial Vehicle Product Unit (SCVPU) under the Tata Motors Commercial Vehicle (TMCV) division. He will be based in Mumbai and report to the Executive Director of TMCV, Girish Wagh.
Haldar is a professional with over two decades of experience in sales, channel management, and business development across sectors such as paints, insurance, and consumer durables. His recent role was Vice President – India Sales and International Business at Whirlpool Corporation.
A Tata Motors spokesperson confirmed the development but offered no comments on the plans ahead, as the company is under a silent period ahead of its Q4 FY25 earnings.
His entry comes at the most challenging phase for Tata Motors’ SCV business—a segment that once led the company’s commercial vehicle growth story but is now under sustained pressure.
Declining Volumes, Shifting Market Structure
The SCV landscape has undergone a fundamental transformation over the past five years. With customer preferences shifting towards pickups and payload flexibility, Tata Motors—long anchored in the sub-one-tonne mini-truck space with the Ace—has struggled to retain share. Once a category-defining product, the Ace has lost momentum, with an eroded value equation amid rising costs and evolving competition.
Newer models like the Intra have shown potential but haven’t been able to offset deeper volume declines elsewhere in the portfolio. They now face intensified competition from Mahindra’s Bolero range and newer rivals like the recently launched Veero. Mahindra’s portfolio and product spread in urban and rural areas are far stronger.
Despite multiple interventions, including the launch of Yodha in the pickup space, Tata Motors has not been able to establish a consistent growth path in this evolving segment.
Falling Share
Based on FY25 domestic sales data, Tata Motors’ market share in the Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) segment continues to decline, reflecting sustained competitive pressure across both mini-truck and pickup categories. In the A1 segment (Mini Trucks with GVW ≤ 2 tonnes), Tata Motors sold 82,440 units, accounting for 52.9% of the segment total (155,927 units). While this still makes Tata the segment leader by volume, its share has dropped from 55.9% in FY24, as competitors like Maruti Suzuki (22.1%) and Mahindra (25%) held steady or gained marginally.
In the A2 segment (Pickups with GVW > 2 tonnes ≤ 3.5 tonnes), Tata Motors’ domestic sales stood at 56,302 units in FY25 out of 310,696 units, translating to a market share of just 18.1%. This is significantly behind Mahindra & Mahindra, which dominates the segment with 189,914 units and a 61.1% share. With its Dost platform, Ashok Leyland also outpaced Tata with 61,952 units (19.9% share), pushing Tata into a distant third.
Overall, in the combined SCV (N1 category) market, Tata Motors sold 138,742 units out of 466,623, giving it a total market share of 29.7% in FY25. This drops from approximately 32.1% in FY24, underscoring the urgency for a turnaround as Tata loses ground in legacy and emerging SCV sub-segments.
Haldar’s appointment follows a series of internal changes, including the exit of long-time SCV business head Vinay Pathak, consolidation of national sales manager roles, and reallocation of dealer oversight responsibilities to zonal truck and bus managers. These moves are part of a broader effort to stabilise and recalibrate the SCV business unit.
In recent years, Tata Motors has also engaged top-tier consulting firms—BCG, McKinsey, and Egon Zehnder—to support its commercial vehicle strategy. However, according to insiders, progress in reversing the SCV business decline has been limited.
Leadership from Outside the Industry
The decision to appoint an executive from outside the commercial vehicle or auto sector has sparked conversation within industry circles. Some insiders view it as a bold move that reflects the company’s willingness to experiment with fresh thinking. In contrast, others suggest it may signal a “nothing to lose” approach in a segment that’s seen continued pressure.
The timing of this leadership transition is also significant, with the Commercial Vehicle business set to be carved out and listed separately in the coming months. Against this backdrop, Haldar’s task is to show growth performance and find long-term strategic clarity.
Tata Motors’ SCV business, once the crown jewel of its commercial vehicle portfolio, is now at an inflection point. Pinaki Haldar’s appointment as business head comes amid heightened urgency, structural churn, and a shifting market landscape. Whether an external perspective can revive the fortunes of this segment remains a closely watched development ahead of Tata Motors’ CV listing. This is in the context of Executive Director Girish Wagh being credited with the SCV business from its inception.
Haldar Will Aim to Reinforce B2B2C Model
Tata Motors’ shift to a B2B2C model in its Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) business was positioned as a key strategic pivot to align with India’s evolving logistics landscape. As e-commerce and digital delivery platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Delhivery gained scale, the company aimed to cater simultaneously to institutional buyers and end-user operators through platform partnerships, leasing models, and onboarding support. The intention was clear: move beyond traditional dealer-driven sales and embed Tata vehicles deeper into modern, asset-light logistics ecosystems. However, despite being in motion for over 18 months, the strategy has yet to yield any meaningful market share or sentiment turnaround. Structural challenges, inconsistent field execution, and limited traction with large aggregators have muted its effectiveness.
The appointment of Haldar as SCV Business Head is seen internally as a reset for this underperforming initiative. With a background in consumer durables rather than commercial vehicles, Haldar brings a fresh, outsider lens—but also faces a steep learning curve in a business under severe pressure. His task will be to build stronger accountability and delivery mechanisms. While his consumer-centric experience may help improve downstream engagement and operational efficiency, insiders suggest the success of this model hinges less on theory and more on deep market execution, sharper product-service alignment, and restoring confidence across Tata’s SCV channel partners.
Story in Numbers
A1 Segment (Mini Trucks ≤ 2T GVW)
FY24: 98,454 units
FY25: 82,440 units
YoY Decline: 16%
Primary reason: Continued pressure on the ACE portfolio due to rising competition and reduced value proposition
Competitor Comparison:
Maruti Suzuki Super Carry: ~34,000 units (stable)
Mahindra: ~39,000 units (stable)
A2 Segment (Pickups >2T ≤3.5T GVW)
FY24: 60,794 units
FY25: 56,302 units
YoY Decline: 7.4%
Key products: Intra, ACE Mega, Yodha, 207 DI
Competitor Comparison:
Mahindra Bolero range: 189,914 units
Ashok Leyland Dost: 61,000+ units (ahead of Tata)
Overall SCV (A1 + A2) Domestic Sales
FY24: 159,248 units
FY25: 138,742 units
Total YoY Decline: ~13%
Key Highlights
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Tata Motors is losing volume in both mini-truck and pickup segments.
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The ACE platform’s dominance has sharply declined.
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Newer models like Intra and Yodha have not scaled up enough to offset losses.
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Competitors like Mahindra and Ashok Leyland are maintaining or growing their positions, intensifying pressure.
This highlights the urgent need for product refreshes, stronger channel engagement, and effective execution of the B2B2C strategy under new leadership.
This article first appeared on Autocar
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