Story of SUMO VICTA/ VICTAA TURBO DI

 Tata Sumo Victa (2004-2007)

This was a complete facelift. Tata made some serious changes, inside out. The car looked more ‘civilised’ and something that is comfortable enough for daily drives around the city. It hosted a plethora of features like all-new interiors, power windows, power steering, multifunctional instrument panel and a lot more.

Tata Sumo Victaa Turbo DI (2007-2011)

This version took the Sumo name ahead. The Victa Turbo DI and was available in 7 seater and 9 seater variants. It was launched with Turbocharged engine offering an increased power of 70 PS (at 3000 rpm) and 223 Nm Torque (at 2200 rpm). The exterior of the vehicle was the same as the Victa. However, the wheel at the tailgate was removed.

Right from the launch itself Tata Motors tried to position Sumo as a family utility vehicle. As usual the brand was not perceived as a family vehicle. The main reason being the looks. Sumo looked and felt like a commercial vehicle. At that time Tata was perceived to be a truck manufacturer and that secondary association weakened the positioning of Tata Sumo as a family vehicle.

But the good news was the wide acceptance of Sumo as a commercial vehicle. Tour operators and taxi segment embraced this vehicle and soon Sumo became the market leader.

But early 2000 saw the emergence of new competition. Mahindra Bolero and Toyota Qualis gave a new meaning to the category which Sumo created. Qualis redefined the segment and became the market leader. It was also a signal of a shift in customer preferences in this segment. Even passenger-mover segment began to look for attributes like luxury , comfort, styling etc.

But Sumo was a brand that tried to change with times. Although no major changes were made to the product, Tata Motors nurtured the brand with cosmetic changes and tweaking here and there. Tata was not complaining since volume was not bad.The brand also launched a low priced variant Tata Spacio to fight the price competition.

The major change that happened to Sumo was in 2004. Sumo relaunched itself as Sumo Victa. Beyond cosmetic changes, the product had major changes like Power Windows, Power Steering etc. The brand was struggling at that time from the competition from Qualis. But Qualis withdrew from the market in 2004 to move into a new category of luxury MUV with Innova.

Innova soon gained acceptance as a family MUV - a place which Sumo wanted.

Sumo Victa during these period ran a campaign highlighting the positioning of a family vehicle. The campaign featured different profiles of people who had traveled offbeaten paths. The campaign was significant since it was more of a brand building exercise for Sumo. Till that time , all the ads of Sumo was talking about features rather than the brand.

Sumo Victa had the slogan " Kuch Log Sumo Chalate hain " translated to " Some drive a Sumo " . The message was that those who drives Sumo are those who have traveled the ' road less traveled'. But still the brand could not acquire the status of a family vehicle or a vehicle for individual use. But the brand had a set of customers who ran one-man-show business. For them Sumo provided twin benefit of business and family vehicle.