THE RESURGENCE OF TATA MOTORS

Tata Motors has long been a very important and crucial component of the Tata conglomerate. Tata Motors can be broken down into 3 divisions – Passenger Vehicles (PV), Commercial Vehicles (CV) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Venturing into the passenger vehicle segment of India in 1991 with the launch of the Tata Sierra, a multi-utility vehicle. This proved to the world India’s capability of creating an indigenous car capable of competing in the market. The Tata Indica launched in 1998, was the game changer for Tata Motors in the domestic market. India’s first fully indigenously manufactured vehicle was initially criticized by the auto enthusiast. The Indica had the correct combination to make it a resounding success – a powerful and frugal engine, a great marketing strategy. The later launched Indica V2 ensured that the Tata Indica was one of the best selling cars in the history of the Indian automobile industry. Over the years Tata Motors has produced many iconic the Tata Sumo; a workhorse passenger utility vehicle, Tata Safari; India’s first off-road worthy SUV. These cars have not only been customer favourites, but have also been Indian made products which have made the nation proud.

     Tata Motors announced itself on the world stage with the acquisition of Jaguar & Land Rover from American giant Ford for about $3.2 Billion in 2008. This move by Tata Motors by to acquire the then ailing luxury brands was seen as very bold and sceptical by the global car industry. Many wondered how could Tata Motors, a company catering to the mass market car buyer; having no experience in the luxury market successfully manage and run two prestigious luxury brands? Tata Motors silenced and shocked critics when JLR started making profits only 3 years after the takeover. Tata may have brilliantly steered the JLR ship through rough waters, but they are facing a struggle keeping the ship afloat in the domestic market. The domestic market being the one which matters to them the most, as it is here where the main bulk of the sales Tata Motors (PV segment) take place. The presence of foreign brands in India such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda etc. has given Tata a hard time. The Indian market is a very unique and volatile one. With the customer emphasising the importance of technology and quality, most of the players in the Indian market have certainly raised the bar in those aspects. The much anticipated launch of the Tata Nano in 2008, signalled a much awaited change in the ideology of the brand. Launched with very high hopes, the Nano never really materialized into a car every Indian would be able to own.

     Flash forward to 2014, Tata launched the Zest compact sedan. The launch was a closely guarded secret and not many people knew what to expect. But when the curtain was raised, the world was blown away by a completely new and modern Tata product! A refreshing, young and modern design language; new and updated engines, mechanicals, better quality interiors and a feature loaded package. The Zest signalled the dawn of a new age of Tata cars. With a dedicated team of 250 engineers and over 3 years in the making Tata delivered a product fit for the Indian customers. All of a sudden Tata Motors had reinstated that they were not willing to go down without a fight in the Indian domestic market. The folks at Tata have been patient to respond for a long time and have studied the benchmarks set by other manufacturers in the market, having understood them worked upon their strengths and learnt from their mistakes. We must not forget the importance of the JLR acquisition to the resurgence of Tata Motors, what it did was it has given Tata Motors a great wealth of valuable information to cutting edge automobile technology. This is slowly but steadily being integrated horizontally throughout the organization. Let’s take the recently launched Tata Tiago for example, a car where the engineers at JLR helped quite a deal in the development; right from the conceptualization to the finished product. Weighing over a ton, built as a tank, with a 1.0 litre turbo-charged petrol engine in a hatchback – a true driver’s dream! The line-up of the upcoming Tata models – Kite 5 sedan, new Aria, Hexa etc. are also very impressive.

      It is safe to say even though the numbers do not show it, that Tata Motors is on a resurgent path towards forging its name in the ever competitive Indian market. It is something that we as Indian automobile enthusiasts should be proud of.  I for one am eagerly waiting for the day Tata Motors can challenge the likes of Toyota, Honda and other companies in the Indian market. It would be a very proud moment for us to see that day. Would it for you?