The Rising Decade

With almost more than a decade into passenger vehicles in India, Tata Motors wanted to make an impact as a global brand.

Back to its roots

As I mentioned in my previous post Commercial vehicle manufacturing is one of the major and oldest businesses of Tata Motors. So, it started with the acquisition of Daewoo's Truck manufacturing unit in 2004, known as Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle in South Korea. They have launched several new models in Korea and also exported to international markets.

Next in the line was Hispano Carrocera based in Aragon, Spain. It is one of the largest bus and coach cabin manufacturers in Europe. Tata motors acquired 21% stake in the company in 2005 and purchased the remaining 79% from Investalia in 2009 to take full ownership.

Xenon XT

In 2006, Tata Motors formed a joint venture(JV) with Marcopolo of Brazil, a global leader in bus and coach manufacturing. It was to manufacture fully built low floor buses and coaches for the Indian and select international markets. And also in the same year, Tata motors entered into a joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture its new range of pickup vehicles in Thailand. It even started a new plant in Thailand to manufacture its pickup vehicle Xenon in 2008 which was launched in Thailand the same year.

The Bang

Even though Tata Motors was a well known brand among auto majors around the globe, 2008 was the year which placed Tata motors among the top players in the global market. It would be ironic to manufacture the cheapest car in the world and also to own two of the most luxurious brands, but that is what they did.

With the global economic slowdown, General Motors(GM) lost its spot as the International market leader to Toyota. This made GM to bring two of its iconic British brands under Ford under the hammer, Jaguar and Land Rover(JLR). There were skeptic talks among the automotive industry about an Indian company taking over JLR. Tata Motors out bid all the other players and completed the acquisition of JLR. It was huge risk for Tata to acquire JLR at the time of recession and also needed to invest a lot to make JLR profitable.

Tata Nano

The same year, Tata Motors made the automotive industry grapevine go abuzz again. This time it was the Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world , US$2900. International Auto makers were forced to go down the research lane to make compact and cheap cars.

Global Footprint

Tata Motors' vehicles are already being marketed in Europe, Africa, many parts of Asia, the Middle East, and South America. They use their acquisitions and JV's around the world to promote and manufacture their vehicles globally.

Pulse

• Tata motors' sales are expected to go up by 16% for the September quarter. This very much says that the company is gaining market shares and sales are on a high. Which is definitely a good sign for a company which is surrounded by some strong competitors. 
• Brazilian car importer Sergio Habib's SHC is in talks with Tata Motors to import their cars into Brazil. With Tata motors already having a JV with Marcopolo of Brazil, this would make the company grow as a brand in South America.
• Tata Motors launch Tata Nano in Bangladesh today i.e. October 15th 2011. They have launched the vehicle in Nepal and Sri Lanka early this year. And also, the Governor of Brazil's most populous state, Antonio Augusto Anastasia, during his 8-day visit to India said "We would very much like to take Tata Nano to Brazil". In the near future we can expect some Nanos in Carnaval de Rio. NDTV.com cartradeindia.com

Sources

http://www.slideshare.net/Lordnikhil/tata-jlr-acquisition-case-study

http://www.tatamotors.com

http://www.tata.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Motors#Acquisitions

My Brand - Something to brag about

Once we were told that we need to select an automobile brand and post about it in blogs, there were lot of companies running through my mind. The one brand which I have seen from the insemination and grew along with it, Tata Motors, I have lived among them and something close to me.

Tata Motors Limited is a part of the Tata Group, which was formerly known as TELCO (Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company). Tata Group has 114 companies under its belt which is headed by Ratan Tata, Chairman of the group.

Tata Motors is India’s largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of USD 27 billion in 2010-11. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment and one among the top three in passenger vehicles with products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The Company is the world's fourth largest truck manufacturer and the world's third largest bus manufacturer.

Established in 1945, when the company began manufacturing locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which ended in 1969. Tata Motors is traded on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. It is the first Indian company from engineering sector to be listed in the New York stock exchange.

Tata Sumo Grande(2008 - present)

After almost three decades into commercial vehicles, Tata motors set their foot into passenger vehicle manufacturing in 1991 with Tata Sierra, a MUV. Which was followed by Tata Estate(1992, a station wagon), Tata Sumo(1994, LCV) and Tata Safari (1998, India's First SUV). Tata then went on to launch "Indica" later in 1998, the first fully indigenous passenger car of India. The car's excellent fuel economy and aggressive marketing strategy made it as one of India's best selling car's of all time.

Over 5.9 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads since it rolled out its first automobile in 1954. The companies presence is felt through the length and breadth of India with more than 250 dealerships in more than 195 cities across 27 states and 4 Union territories. It has the 3rd largest Sales and Services network next to Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.

With more than 4500 engineers and scientist, Tata motors have one of India's largest R&D Center, which was established in 1966. The company has R&D centers in India and also in South Korea, Spain and UK. Tata Motors is also expanding its international footprint. The Company's commercial and passenger vehicles are already being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia and South America. It has franchisee/joint venture assembly operations in Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Russia, Senegal and South Africa.

Tata Sons, the major stake holder in Tata Motors, is a charitable trust managed by the Tata Group. It has lend its hands in improving quality of life of communities in four core areas - education, employability, environment and health.

Tata motors has acquired and took over quite a number of companies. Brands and companies under its belt, its latest developments and the Tata motors' International impact, wait till my next post.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Motors

http://www.tatamotors.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Group