Tata Motors Limited

Company information

• Date founded: September 1, 1945
• Industry: Automobile manufacturing
• Corporate headquarters: Mumbai, India
• Type: Public

Overview

Tata Motors Limited is an automotive manufacturer headquartered in Mumbai, India. Among its automobile brands are Altroz, Tiago, and Tigor; its sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are Punch, Nexon, Harrier, and Safari. Commercial products include load and passenger transportation such as construction vehicles and buses. Its subsidiary Tata Technologies works with a dozen original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the aerospace sector and manufactures tracked and wheeled combat vehicle platforms for India’s defense forces. These include light armored vehicles and troop carriers as well as containers used for command posts and missile launchers. The company’s experience with defense manufacturing dates to the 1940s when it produced armored steel during World War II.

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata founded the Tata Group in 1868. India was a colony of Great Britain when Tata was growing up. He chafed against restrictions on Indians and was angry about widespread poverty in his country. To help his community, Tata distributed some profits from the company that he ran with his father to social development projects. As an employer, he was forward-thinking, providing benefits such as a provident fund, which is an investment fund to provide retirement funds similar to modern US Social Security. He was also a humanitarian, establishing endowments to help students pursue higher education abroad in 1892.

In the twenty-first century, Tata Motors is one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world and the second-largest carmaker in India, with a sales volume of more than 969,000 units in fiscal year 2024. This was an increase from previous years. The principal investment holding company of Tata Motors and the Tata Group overall is Tata Sons; the majority of Tata Sons’ equity share capital is held by philanthropic trusts that support art and culture, education, employment development, and health.

History

Tata was born on March 3, 1839, in the small town of Gujarat, Navsari, India. His father ran a business and headed a family of Parsee priests, and as the firstborn child and only son, Tata was expected to follow in the patriarch’s footsteps. Tata graduated from Elphinstone College and went to work at his father’s firm. After nearly a decade of working with his father, Tata started a trading company. He traveled extensively and recognized the potential for India to enter the textiles industry, and in 1869 established a cotton mill in Bombay (Mumbai). This was the first of several spinning, weaving, and manufacturing facilities that he opened and operated. Tata spent more than twenty years working to develop iron and steel companies and even opened a hydroelectric power plant but he did not succeed in these ventures before his death in 1904. His son Dorab Tata and a cousin, R.D. Tata, opened a steel production plant in 1912; the company entered the hospitality industry several years later when it opened a luxury hotel. The early twentieth century also saw the company expand further in such areas as aviation and electricity.

Tata Locomotive and Engineering Company Limited was established to manufacture steam locomotives. It was incorporated as a public limited company in 1945. The company began to manufacture commercial automotive vehicles in collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG of Germany in 1954, in a partnership that continued until 1969. The first name change occurred in 1960 to reflect the progression of the business; it was revised to Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited, commonly Telco. It ceased steam locomotive manufacturing in 1971 and added passenger vehicle manufacturing in 1988. In 2003 it became Tata Motors Limited. In 2004 it became the first Indian automotive company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol TTM.

Tata acquired the South Korean commercial vehicle company Daewoo in 2004, and the Jaguar Land Rover business from Ford Motor Company in 2008; the latter deal included three major manufacturing facilities and two design and engineering facilities in the United Kingdom as well as sales companies in various countries. The company has set up multiple joint ventures in manufacturing with other brands, including Fiat, Marcopolo, and Thonburi.

As of 2024, Tata Motors’ major subsidiaries were Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., Tata Motors European Technical Centre PLC, Tata Motors Insurance Broking and Advisory Services Limited (TMIBASL), TMF Holdings Limited, TML Distribution Company Limited, TRILIX Srl, Tata Technologies Limited, Tata Marcopolo Motors Limited, TML Holdings Pte. Limited, and Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company Limited. In addition to the automotive manufacturing, distribution, and financing businesses, Tata Technologies Limited provides information technology services to manufacturing industries; Trilix Srl is a commercial art and graphic design company located in Italy; and TMIBASL offers automobile and other insurance services.

The company’s first passenger vehicle was the TataMobile 206, commonly called the Tata Telcoline. It was a pickup truck that debuted in 1988. It was highly successful and resulted in Tata producing an SUV, the Tata Sierra, in 1991. In quick succession, the company produced the Tata Estate, a station wagon, in 1992; a five-door SUV, the Sumo, in 1994; and yet another SUV, the Safari, in 1998.

The Safari proved to be an enduring model. It first appeared at the 1998 Auto Expo as SUVs were taking off and drew attention for its off-road performance as well as its comfortable cabin. The Safari debuted with a 2.0-liter turbo diesel motor, but when sales leveled off, Tata redesigned it with a more powerful but less fuel-efficient 2.1-liter gas engine in 2004. This upgrade also included a video game system, a refrigerator, and reverse camera options. In 2005, the Safari was overhauled inside and out. The front grill and headlights were redesigned, as were the wheels. Rear air conditioner vents and airbags were added to the interior. This new version boasted a 3.0-liter, 4-cylinder Dicor diesel engine that boosted performance. Subsequent changes saw the SUV engine refined to comply with European Union emission standards and the addition of a rear-wheel-drive option that further offered a 4x4 option. From 2012 through 2019, the company offered the Safari Strome, an improved model to compete with popular SUVs from Toyota and other manufacturers. The 2.2-liter Dicor diesel engine was replaced in 2015 with a Varicor engine. The company retired the model name briefly but revived it with the 2021 Safari, which was a modified version of the popular five-seater Tata Harrier, which had jump seats. This third-generation Safari, built on the off-road friendly Land Rover D8 platform, boasted a full third row and premium safety features.

The Tata Indica, introduced in 1998, was one of the first passenger cars fully developed and manufactured in India. This supermini car was the company’s first passenger hatchback and a response to customer demand for vehicles with roomier interiors. The 1.4-liter Tata gas engine that powered it was called the 475DL. The Indica had the most up-to-date features that, until this time, were only available in imported cars, such as power windows. It became the best-selling vehicle in its category (supermini) in the country within two years and was sold in Europe as the CityRover for several years. While it was popular, customers wanted more power and better fuel efficiency, so Tata quickly introduced the Indica V2. Thanks to the huge following of the Indica, Tata created a Sedan version called the Indigo and a station wagon, the Indigo Marina. The Indica line eventually expanded to include an electric car, but sales were poor and in 2018 Tata discontinued the entire line. The Indica brand was overshadowed by other subcompact cars including the Suzuki Swift, which ran on a Fiat diesel engine. Ironically, Tata and Fiat had signed a joint venture agreement in 2007, so the Indica line was essentially run off the road thanks to engines built by Tata.

Although subcompact cars make up more than 75 percent of the market, much of India’s population relies on two-wheel transportation and advances such as electric vehicles (EVs) have seen success in that segment. Tata entered the EV market again by establishing a new subsidiary in 2021, but only 1.66 percent of the 20 million automobiles sold in fiscal year 2021 were electric. However, Tata was the top electrical vehicle seller in India in 2024, with 61,496 units sold.

Impact

The Indian auto industry was the world’s third-largest vehicle market as of January of 2025 by volume in units. It first claimed this spot in 2022, which was ahead of schedule, as the Indian government forecasted it would take this spot around 2026. The factors fueling this expected growth included increased income—household average incomes increased threefold from 2010 to 2020; decreasing average age nationwide; investment in research and development and engineering; and government economic support for manufacturers.

Of the top three automotive manufacturers in India—Maruti, Tata, and Hyundai—only Tata saw year-over-year growth from 2020 to 2021. Its market share increased from 8.51 to 13.87, putting Tata in second place behind Maruti. Tata Motors leads the industry in commercial vehicles and buses. The company has launched programs such as Tata Delight, a loyalty program for owners of the company’s commercial vehicles that offered roadside assistance and other benefits to members.

While the company has a longstanding philosophy of compensating workers fairly, Tata Motors workers have staged strikes and sit-in protests. The company has signed several long-term wage settlement agreements with workers. The first was in 2016 with workers at the Sanand car factory. The agreements included performance-linked productivity plans and wage increases.

Tata has established programs to protect and improve the environment. The company launched Go Green, an initiative in which the company works with a nongovernmental organization to plant a tree for every new commercial vehicle sold and every customer who gets a vehicle serviced at a Tata dealer workshop or authorized service station. Company volunteers have planted tens of thousands of saplings on formerly barren land with an urban forestry project that Tata sponsors.

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