Star to the "T"

Before I get into any other news or history, I wanted to let know that the launch of Tata Nano in Bangladesh had been delayed. Since the exclusive distributor for Tata Motors in Banladesh, Nitol Motors, wanted the cheapest car even more cheaper. It costs around 599000taka in Bangladesh which is almost 3times higher than what it costs in India. Nitol Motors has said it would go all down to get a price cut for Nano.

In the last couple of posts we have seen the rise of Tata Motors in the past couple of decades. It was in 1988 Ratan Tata took over as Chairman for Tata Group. After which he brought major changes to TELCO which later went on to become Tata Motor. Here are some important milestones from the year 1945 when TELCO came into existence, till it became Tata Motors.

• 1945 - Tata Locamotive and Engineering Company Ltd. was established.
• 1945 - A 16yr agreement was signed with Indian Railways for boilers and locomotives.
• 1948 - Road roller introduced in collaboration with Marshall Sons, UK.
• 1950 - Agreement with Krauss-Maffei, West Germany for manufacture of steam locomotives was signed.
• 1952 - Rolled out its first locomotive, 2651 YG.
• 1954 - Collaboration with Daimler Benz AG, Germany for the manufacture of Medium Commercial Vehicles at Jamshedpur.
• 1960 - The Company's name was changed from Tata Locomotive and Engineering Company Ltd. to Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd. (TELCO).
• 1961 - Collaboration with Pawling & Harnischfeger(P&H), USA for manufacture of excavators and cranes.
• Tata rolled out its first Excavator, Tat P&H from Jamshedpur.
• 1964 - Started the manufacture of the 1210 model vehicles.
• Also in the same year exports started with the first truck being shipped to Sri Lanka.
• 1966 - The Engineering Research Centre was set up at Pune to provide the driving force to automobile Research and Development.
• 1969 - The Mercedes-Benz Star was replaced by Tata's "T" in all its vehicles.
• 1970 - The last steam locomotive despatched.
• 1977 - First commercial vehicle engine manufactured in Pune.
• 1985 - First hydraulic excavator was produced in collaboration with Hitachi.
• 1986 - Production of first Light Commercial Vehicle(LCV), Tata 407, indigenously designed.
• 1989 - Introduction of the Tatamobile 206 - 3rd LCV model.
• 2003 - Even though it was well known as Tata Motors by this time, the name was officially changed to Tata Motors from Tata Engineering and Locomotive Ltd.
• 2004 - Acquires Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company Ltd., Korea.
• 2007 - Tata Motors buys Nissan facility in South Africa.
• 2008 - Tata Motors acquires Jaguar Land Rover(JLR), UK.
• Unveiled the world's cheapest car Tata Nano at the 2008 AutoExpo in New Delhi.
• Tata Motors signs deal with Chrysler Electric vehicle unit.

Pulse

• Tata Motors celebrates the Silver Jubilee of its leading LCV, Tata 407. Going forward company plans to build on it and develop new platforms for both Indian and international markets.
• Tata Motors' stocks soar high as JLR sales beat market expectations. JLR's total sales for the quarter is 68000 units which is 23% higher than last year and also beat market expectations. Most of JLR's sales came from Land Rover which increased by 51% to last year. Given that JLR alone accounts for a little over half of Tata Motors’ consolidated revenue and three-fourths of the company’s net profit, it’s an ample cause for optimism.

Sources:
http://www.scribd.com
http://danielkafka.blogspot.com/2010/09/tata-benz-trucks.html
http://www.moneycontrol.com/company-facts/tatamotors/history/TM03