According to many India is the new Chinaat least as far as the automotive industry is concerned. The country is attracting more and more investments, factories are opening and it aims to become a major player in the world of transport. A growth due – at least in part – also to Ratan Dadformer chairman of the Tata Group, who died yesterday at the age of 86.
In fact, under his leadership the Group founded by his grandfather grew exponentially, with interests in various fields, especially regarding the car. Perhaps not everyone remembers that Tata has been in control since 2008 Jaguar e Land Rovereffectively saved by the Indian giant following the economic crisis of the late 2010s.
Life and work
Born in 1937 Ratan Tata began working in the Group founded by his grandfather in 1962, until becoming president in 1990. From there he began company transformation towards a global mentality, to the point of making it the most important in all of India, with interests in countless sectors.
The car industry – the Indian manager’s great passion – was perhaps the most important for exporting the Tata name to the world, especially starting from 2008, the year of the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, for a sum exceeding one billion euro. At the time, the first signs of crisis were bringing numerous automotive brands to their knees and Ratan Tata avoided the bankruptcy of the two historic English brands, while still leaving maximum freedom to engineers and designers.
As recalled by Autocar at the time he declared “”We believe that it is the duty of whoever is the owner to cultivate the image, preserve the style and sensations they give, and not modify them. They are British brands and they should remain British. Who actually owns them shouldn’t matter much in how they work.”
Maximum freedom seasoned with love for the two brands. Many remember the frequent visits to the Gaydon headquarters, testing the various models alongside the then chief test driver Mike Cross.
Under the presidency of Ratan Dad Jaguar and Land Rover have begun important transformations, with the abandonment of the Ford models (first and foremost the X-Type) moving towards a more modern design and a more complex range.
The people’s car
If on the one hand we looked (and we look) at British luxury, on the other Ratan Tata had the objective of allowing all Indians to be able to buy a car. Thus was born Tata Nanoa city car just 3.1 meters long and with 4 seats. Project strongly supported by Ratan, with aims that went beyond the Indian market, where the Nano was sold for the equivalent of just over 1,000 euros.
Tata
Tata
Essential in everything and moved by one 30 HP engine It did not have the hoped-for success, also due to problems with the first examples which had suffered spontaneous fires due to problems with the electrical system. Produced until 2018, it actually never managed to cross Indian borders, due to production and design limitations that jeopardized its arrival in other markets.
Source: it.motor1.com
