Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited (formerly TELCO, short for "Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company") is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and a subsidiary of the Tata Group. Its products include passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses and military vehicles. It is the world's eighteenth-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company, fourth-largest truck manufacturer and second-largest bus manufacturer by volume.
Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar, Lucknow, Sanand, Dharwad and Pune in India, as well as in Argentina, South Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom. It has research and development centres in Pune, Jamshedpur, Lucknow and Dharwad, India, and in South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It has a bus manufacturing joint venture with Marcopolo S.A.,a construction equipment manufacturing joint venture with Hitachi and a joint venture with Fiat in India.
Founded in 1945 as a manufacturer of locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which ended in 1969. Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 with the launch of the Tata Sierra, becoming the first Indian manufacturer to achieve the capability of developing a competitive indigenous automobile. In 1998 launched the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car, the Indica. Tata Motors acquired the South Korean truck manufacturer Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company in 2004 and the British premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover in 2008.
Tata Motors is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the BSE SENSEX index, the National Stock Exchange of India and the New York Stock Exchange. Tata Motors is ranked 314th in the 2012 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest corporations.

Founded	1945
Founder(s)	J. R. D. Tata
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ratan Tata (Chairman Emeritus) Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (Chairman) Karl Slym (Managing Director) Ravi Kant
Parent	Tata Group
Divisions	Tata Motors Cars
Subsidiaries	Jaguar Land Rover Tata Daewoo Tata Hispano
Website	www.tatamotors.com

History

Tata entered the commercial vehicle sector in 1954 after forming a joint venture with Daimler-Benz of Germany. After years of dominating the commercial vehicle market in India, Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 by launching the Tata Sierra, a multi utility vehicle. After the launch of three more vehicles, Tata Estate (1992; a station wagon design based on the earlier 'TataMobile' (1989), a light commercial vehicle), Tata Sumo (1994; LCV) and Tata Safari (1998; India's first sports utility vehicle).
Tata launched the Indica in 1998, the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car. Although initially criticised by auto-analysts, its excellent fuel economy, powerful engine and an aggressive marketing strategy made it one of the best selling cars in the history of the Indian automobile industry. A newer version of the car, named Indica V2, was a major improvement over the previous version and quickly became a mass-favourite. Tata Motors also successfully exported large quantities of the car to South Africa. The success of Indica played a key role in the growth of Tata Motors.

The second-generation Tata Indica; one of the best selling cars in the history of the Indian automobile industry

In 2004 Tata Motors acquired Daewoo's South Korea-based truck manufacturing unit, Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, later renamed Tata Daewoo.
On 27 September 2004, Tata Motors rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to mark the listing of Tata Motors.
In 2005, Tata Motors acquired a 21% controlling stake in the Spanish bus and coach manufacturer Hispano Carrocera. Tata Motors continued its market area expansion through the introduction of new products such as buses (Starbus & Globus, jointly developed with subsidiary Hispano Carrocera) and trucks (Novus, jointly developed with subsidiary Tata Daewoo).
In 2006, Tata formed a joint venture with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, Tata Marcopolo Bus, to manufacture fully built buses and coaches.

Tata Nano, the world's most inexpensive car

In 2008, Tata Motors acquired the British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, manufacturer of the Jaguar, Land Rover and Daimler luxury car brands, from Ford Motor Company.
In May 2009 Tata unveiled the Tata World Truck range jointly developed with Tata Daewoo. Debuting in South Korea, South Africa, the SAARC countries and the Middle-East by the end of 2009.
Tata acquired full ownership of Hispano Carrocera in 2009.
In 2010, Tata Motors acquired an 80% stake in the Italian design and engineering company Trilix for €1.85 million. The acquisition formed part of the company's plan to enhance its styling and design capabilities.
In 2012, Tata Motors announced it will invest around INR6 billion on developing Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles in collaboration with DRDO.
In 2013, Tata Motors announced it will sell in India, the first vehicle in the world to run on compressed air (engines designed by the French company MDI) and dubbed "Mini CAT".

Operations

Tata Motors has vehicle assembly operations in India, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Thailand, Spain and South Africa. It plans to establish plants in Turkey, Indonesia and Eastern Europe.
Tata Motors' principal subsidiaries include Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Daewoo and Tata Hispano.

Tata Motors Cars

Main article: Tata Motors Cars

The Tata Prima

Tata Motors is among the top four in passenger vehicles in India with products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company’s manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Dharwad (Karnataka) and Sanand (Gujarat). Tata's dealership, sales, service and spare parts network comprises over 3,500 touch points.
Tata also has franchisee/joint venture assembly operations in Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Russia and Senegal. Tata has dealerships in 26 countries across 4 continents. Though Tata is present in many countries it has only managed to create a large consumer base in the Indian Subcontinent, namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Tata has a growing consumer base in Italy, Spain and South Africa.
Tata Motors has more than 250 dealerships in more than 195 cities across 27 states and 4 Union Territories of India. It has the 3rd largest Sales and Service Network after Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.

Tata Daewoo

In 2004, Tata Motors acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company of South Korea. The reasons behind the acquisition were:

The Tata Prima heavy truck

• Company's global plans to reduce domestic exposure. The domestic commercial vehicle market is highly cyclical in nature and prone to fluctuations in the domestic economy. Tata Motors has a high domestic exposure of ~94% in the MHCV segment and ~84% in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. Since the domestic commercial vehicle sales of the company are at the mercy of the structural economic factors, it is increasingly looking at the international markets. The company plans to diversify into various markets across the world in both MHCV as well as LCV segments.
• To expand the product portfolio Tata Motors recently introduced the 25MT GVW Tata Novus from Daewoo’s (South Korea) (TDCV) platform. Tata plans to leverage on the strong presence of TDCV in the heavy-tonnage range and introduce products in India at an appropriate time. This was mainly to cater to the international market and also to cater to the domestic market where a major improvement in the Road infrastructure was done through the National Highway Development Project.

Tata Daewoo is the second-largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in South Korea. Tata Motors has jointly worked with Tata Daewoo to develop trucks such as Novus and World Truck and buses including GloBus and StarBus. In 2012, Tata will start developing a new line to manufacture competitive and fuel efficient commercial vehicles to face the competition posed by the entry of international brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Navistar into the Indian market.

Tata Hispano

Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera, S.A. is a bus and coach cabin manufacturer based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. Tata Hispano has plants in Zaragoza, Spain and Casablanca, Morocco. Tata Motors first acquired a 21% stake in Hispano Carrocera SA in 2005, and acquired the remaining 79% for an undisclosed sum in 2009, making it a fully owned subsidiary, subsequently renamed Tata Hispano.

Jaguar and Land Rover

The Range Rover Evoque

Jaguar Land Rover PLC is a British premium automaker headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, United Kingdom and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors since June 2008, when it was acquired from Ford Motor Company. Its principal activity is the development, manufacture and sale of Jaguar luxury and sports cars and Land Rover premium four wheel drive vehicles. It also owns the currently dormant Daimler, Lanchester and Rover brands.
Jaguar Land Rover has two design centres and three assembly plants in the UK. Under Tata ownership, Jaguar Land Rover has launched new vehicles including the Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar F-Type and the fourth-generation Range Rover.

HV Axles and HV Transmission

HV Transmission (HVTL) and HV Axles (HVAL) are 100% subsidiary companies of Tata Motors engaged in the business of manufacture of gear boxes and axles for heavy and medium commercial vehicles, with production facilities and infrastructure based at Jamshedpur. HVAL and HVTL have been amalgamated ton HVAL and is renamed as TML Drivelines Ltd.

Tata Technologies

Tata Technologies Limited (TTL) provides engineering and design services to the automotive industry. Tata Motors holds 86.91% of TTL’s share capital. TTL is based in Pune (Hinjawadi) and operates in the United States and Europe through its wholly owned subsidiaries in Detroit and London respectively. It also has a presence in Thailand. Tata Technologies is a software service provider in the IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) space. Its global client list includes Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda. TTL acquired the British engineering and design services company Incat International Plc for 4 billion in August 2005. Incat specialises in engineering and design services and product lifecycle management in the international automotive, aerospace and engineering markets.

European Technical Centre

The Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) is an automotive design, engineering and research company based at the campus of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2005 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. It was the joint developer of the World Truck.

Joint ventures

Tata Marcopolo

A Tata Marcopolo bus in use in Chandigarh, India

Tata Marcopolo is a bus manufacturing joint venture between Tata Motors (51%) and the Brazil-based Marcopolo S.A. (49%). The joint venture manufactures and assembles fully built buses and coaches targeted at developing mass rapid transportation systems. It utilises technology and expertise in chassis and aggregates from Tata Motors, and know-how in processes and systems for bodybuilding and bus body design from Marcopolo. Tata Marcopolo has launched a low-floor city bus which is widely used by Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi, Trivandrum and Bengaluru transport corporations. Its manufacturing facility is based in Dharwad.

Fiat India Automobiles

Tata Motors also formed a joint venture with Fiat and gained access to Fiat’s diesel engine technology. Tata Motors sells Fiat cars in India through a 50/50 joint venture Fiat Automobiles India Limited, and is looking to extend its relationship with Fiat and Iveco to other segments.

Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery

Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery is a joint venture between Tata Motors and Hitachi which manufactures excavators and other construction equipment. It was previously known as Telcon Contruction Solutions.

Products

List of Tata Motors car models

Category	Models
Current models	Passenger cars	Aria, Indica, Indigo, Magic, Nano, Pixel, Safari, Sumo, Sumo Grande
	Commercial cars	207 DI, 407, Ace, Construck, Iris, Magic, Novus, Prima, TL, Venture, Winger, Xenon XT
Historic models	Estate, Mobile, Sierra
Concept cars	Aria Coupe, Cliffrider, Elegante, Indica Silhouette, OneCAT, Xover

Commercial vehicles

• Tata Ace
• Tata Ace Zip
• Tata Super Ace
• Tata TL/Telcoline/207 DI Pickup Truck
• Tata 407 Ex and Ex2
• Tata 709 Ex
• Tata 809 Ex and Ex2
• Tata 909 Ex and Ex2
• Tata 1109 (Intermediate truck)
• Tata 1512 (Medium bus chassis)
• Tata 1612/1616 (Heavy bus chassis)
• Tata 1618 (Semi Low Floor bus chassis)
• Tata 1623 (Rear Engined Low Floor bus chassis)
• Tata 1518C (Medium truck)
• Tata 1613/1615 (Medium truck)
• Tata 2515/2516 (Medium truck)
• Tata Starbus (Branded Buses for city, inter city, school bus and standard passenger transportation)
• Tata Divo (Hispano Divo; Fully built luxury coach)
• Tata CityRide (12 – 20 seater buses for intra-city use)
• Tata 3015 (Heavy truck)
• Tata 3118 (Heavy truck) (8×2)
• Tata 3516 (Heavy truck)
• Tata 4018 (Heavy truck)
• Tata 4923 (Ultra-Heavy truck) (6×4)
• Tata Novus (Heavy truck designed by Tata Daewoo)
• Tata Prima (The World Truck designed by Tata Motors and Tata Daewoo)
• Tata Prima LX (Stripped down version of Tata Prima)
• Tata Ultra (ICV Segment)

Military vehicles

• Tata LSV (Light Specialist Vehicle)
• Tata Mine Protected Vehicle (4×4)
• Tata 2 Stretcher Ambulance
• Tata 407 Troop Carrier, available in hard top, soft top, 4×4, and 4×2 versions
• Tata LPTA 713 TC (4×4)
• Tata LPT 709 E
• Tata SD 1015 TC (4×4)
• Tata LPTA 1615 TC (4×4)
• Tata LPTA 1621 TC (6×6)
• Tata LPTA 1615 TC (4×2)
• Tata Winger Passenger Mini Bus
• Tata Landrover 1515 F
• TATA SUMO 4*4

Electric vehicles

Tata Motors has unveiled electric versions of the Tata Indica passenger car and the Tata Ace commercial vehicle, both of which run on lithium batteries. The company has indicated that the electric Indica would be launched locally in India in about 2010, without disclosing the price. The vehicle would be launched in Norway in 2009.
Tata Motors' UK subsidiary, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, has bought a 50.3% holding in electric vehicle technology firm Miljøbil Grenland/Innovasjon of Norway for US$1.93 million, which specialises in the development of innovative solutions for electric vehicles, and plans to launch the electric Indica hatchback in Europe next year. In September 2010, Tata Motors presented four CNG–Electric Hybrid low-floored Starbuses to the Delhi Transport Corporation, to be used during the Commonwealth games. These were the first environmentally friendly buses to be used for public transportation in India.

Notable vehicles

Tata Ace

Tata Ace, India's first indigenously developed sub-one ton mini-truck, was launched in May 2005. The mini-truck was a huge success in India with auto-analysts claiming that Ace had changed the dynamics of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market in the country by creating a new market segment termed the small commercial vehicle (SCV) segment. Ace rapidly emerged as the first choice for transporters and single truck owners for city and rural transport. By October 2005, LCV sales of Tata Motors had grown by 36.6 percent to 28,537 units due to the rising demand for Ace. The Ace was built with a load body produced by Autoline Industries. By 2005, Autoline was producing 300 load bodies per day for Tata Motors.

Tata Ace was India's first mini truck

Ace is still a top seller for TML with 500,000 units sold to date (June 2010). In 2011, Tata Motors invensted Rs.1000 Crore in Dharwad Plant, Karnataka with the capacity of 90,000 units annually and launched 2 models of 0.5T capacity as Tata Ace Zip, Magic Iris.
Ace has also been exported to several Asian, European, South American and African countries and all-electric models are sold through Polaris Industries' Global Electric Motorcars division. In Sri Lanka it is sold through Diesel & Motor Engineering (DIMO) PLC under the name of DIMO Batta.

Tata 407

Tata 407, is a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) that has sold over 500,000 units since its launch in 1986. In India, this vehicle dominates market share of the LCV category, accounting for close to 75% of LCV sales.

Last updated on 16 September 2013 at 14:04.