Tata Motors Ltd, the country’s largest auto maker by value and the third largest car maker by volume seems to have woken up from sleep. It will now be improving its after-sales service as well. What exactly will Tata Motors offer?

The initiative, “Tata Motors Service Edge” is aimed at offering not just sales but after-sales services too. This would include 24/7 emergency road assistance, quick repairs, insurance and spares. General Motors India Pvt Ltd and Fiat Automobiles India Pvt Ltd were already providing branded services and it was high time for Tata Motors to catch up with the other auto majors.

The president of passenger car business of Tata Motors himself admitted that the quality of Tata cars is not that remarkable. The latest models like the Indica Vista and the Manza, however, have seen a rise in this measure. The branded after-sales service can help the company improve its rankings by providing better service for its customers. It’s a long time now since Tata Motors has an alliance with Fiat. At the moment, it is rumoured that Tata Motors is in talks with Fiat and may extend some of the services it offers the Italian car maker.

It has been long since Carnation Auto India Ltd and Mahindra First Choice Services, Reliance Autozone and Carplus entered the service and spares business. Now, Tata Motors wants to do the same. Car makers are trying hard to get even vehicles with expired warranties back into their service range. Will they succeed? We need to wait. For the car makers, however, the business seems to be doing really well. The average margin has been estimated at 17-18% for spares and 25% for services.

Now seems to be the time. The Indian automotive industry is changing. Global auto makers are targeting the Indian roads. They are coming to India with small car offerings. When the competition is so tight, what can Tata Motors do? The Tata Motors initiative gains in importance with few differentiators among competing products. The sales of entry-level models are just zooming by the day. The smaller towns and cities too are seeing the difference. At such a stage, initiating a program like after-sales services could come in handy for Tata Motors.

Total car sales in the domestic market were up by 34.98% compared to the same period in 2009. February sales outdid the previous record achieved in January this year. 115,505 cars were sold last year in the month of February, while, during February this year, 153,845 cars were successfully sold. This is the 11th consecutive month of growth in the car industry and Tata Motors has planned to do something different, something extra.