Is this the end of the road for Tata Manza?

Tata Manza, the only mid-size sedan sold by Tata Motors, is struggling to keep up with the competition, fueling possibilities of a potential withdrawal from the market.

Just 776 Manzas were sold by the Mumbai-based company in first six months of this year, marking a fall of 26% when compared to the same period last year of 1,054 units. This makes an average monthly volume of 130 units.

Honda City, the best selling car in this segment, reported average monthly sales of 5,841 units and a growth of almost 200% during the first six months of this year.

Tata Motors is taking aggressive steps to correct its product portfolio with a more 'cleverly defined and targeted strategy', according to a senior Tata Motors official. The company recently phased out the first generation Nanos from the market to make way for the upgraded Nano Twist and Nano eMax variants.

Manza is also facing the heat from foreign brands. Hyundai's Verna, Skoda's Rapid and Volkswagen's Vento clock much higher sales than the Tata Manza. The Manza has a share of just 1% while the City has a share of 45% in the segment.

A senior executive from the Ranjangaon plant in Pune where the Manza is made said, "Production of the Manza has gone down significantly. It is produced intermittently with not much demand from dealers. Though production has not stopped fully but it is moving in that direction with a further fall in production expected".

A Mumbai-based Tata dealer confirmed that no new orders are placed for the Manza on the back of fears of a phase out of the model. "There is no demand for the Manza as of now. Discounts on the car had to be increased. New inventory will bring added pressure on us to liquidate them if the model is phased out anytime soon".

Launched in 2009 under the brand Indigo Manza, the car was built on an entirely new Rs 2,000 crore platform, which also served the Vista hatchback. Tata Motors dropped the Indigo moniker two years later when a minor facelift was done to the sedan.

The Manza was positioned as a more expensive elder sibling of the Indigo and Indigo XL sedans, with petrol and diesel engines purchased from the Tata-Fiat manufacturing joint venture.

Sources said that the company is putting its focus behind the Zest sedan, which has been well received in the market. This all-new car is the latest from the Mumbai-based company, which is struggling to arrest the slide in its market share in the passenger vehicle segment.

However, Tata Motors' immediate focus is to untangle the production mess of Zest even as its customers are made to wait for upto six months for the car. The automated manual transmission (AMT) version of the car, which is sold with a diesel engine, has an extended waiting period because of problems in procurement of AMT kits.

A spokesperson of Tata Motors said, "The Manza and the Zest address two completely different segments and we do not have any announcements at present for phasing out any product".