Page 6 - Sands of Time Special Issue on Tata Motors Diamond Jubilee

6 VOL. XVII, ISSUE 2, 2020
n libERAliSATiOn AnD ThErEafTEr
On December 9, 1990 - industrial history was writ at the brilliantly
decorated TELCO Stadium when the one millionth Tata vehicle was
ceremoniously released. The occasion was undoubtedly a landmark.
For TELCO had been propelled into the coveted position of being the fi rst
and only automobile company in the Third World to have produced one
million vehicles.
w launch of tata Vehicles powered with w The millionth vehicle rolls out on
Tata-Cummins Engines, 1996. December 9, 1990.
Further, to satisfy world standard emission levels, TELCO signed an
agreement with Cummins to produce advanced diesel engines.
FROM THE
IN 1994, a Joint Venture The Company acquired 688 acres
agreement was signed with of land for manufacturing Special
Holset Engineering Co., UK to Purpose and Heavy vehicles and
produce turbo chargers to be COLLECTION
Construction Equipment with
fi tted on the Tata Cummins an initial investment of Rs. 425
engines. The year also marked crores.
a signifi cant re-organisation of OF THE
the Company’s entire business The wave of liberalisation,
TATA CENTRAL ARCHIVES
focus and operations. TELCO privatisation and globalisation,
was bifurcated into two Business which started sweeping India
Units - the Automobile and the since the early 1990’s, gave
Construction Equipment - with TELCO a new direction. On
the objective to refl ect its main July 29, 2003 the company
business areas and to provide the changed its name to Tata Motors
necessary operating autonomy Limited on J.R.D.’s 99 birth
th
for the units to operate anniversary.
effi ciently.
The company created a new
segment by launching the Tata
Ace, India’s fi rst indigenously
developed mini one-tonne truck
in 2005. It began commercial
production of the Tata Ace and its
variants at the newly established
Pantnagar, Uttarakhand plant
in 2007. With the success of
the Tata Ace, the company
then launched the Tata Magic,
developed on the Ace platform
w tata aCe. and the Tata Winger, India’s only
maxi van, in 2007.
With the increasing range in
products, the company felt the This was followed by two
need to expand its operations new additions in the Small
to yet another location in India. Commercial Vehicle segment with
Thus, was born the Dharwad the launch of the Tata Magic Iris
facility, TELCOs’ fourth in 1997. and the Tata Ace Zip in 2011.
tata Central arChives newsletter
VOL. XVII, ISSUE 2, 2020
In order to improve its
competitiveness, the organisation
entered foreign markets,
expanding its operations to
international locations as well.
Daewoo, South Korea’s second
largest truck maker was acquired
in 2004. The christened Tata
Daewoo Commercial Vehicles
Company launched several new
products in the Korean market,
while also exporting these
products to several international
markets.
In September 2004, Tata Motors
became the fi rst company from
India’s automotive sector to be
listed on the New York Stock
Exchange.
Expecting a big growth in the bus
market Tata Motors acquired a
stake in the reputed Spanish bus
Carrocera of Spain in 2005.
and coach manufacturer Hispano
Initially it acquired a 21% stake
and fi nally the full ownership in
2009. In 2006, it formed a joint
venture with the Brazil–based
Marcopolo, a global leader in body
building for buses and coaches
to manufacture fully–built buses
and coaches for India and select
international markets. The plant
at Dharwad was geared up to
anchor this product.
w tata prima Daewoo.
Also, in 2006, the company
entered into a Joint Venture with
Thonburi Automotive Assembly
Plant Company of Thailand to
manufacture and market the
company’s pickup vehicles in
Thailand.
In keeping with its pioneering
tradition, the company ushered
in a new era in the Indian
automobile industry in 2009 by
unveiling its new range of world
standard trucks – the Tata Prima
Daewoo.
7
tata Motors continued its market area expansion
through the introduction of new products such as
buses (Starbus and Globus, jointly developed with
subsidiary Hispano Carrocera) and trucks (Novus,
jointly developed with subsidiary Tata Daewoo).
Some of the notable vehicles and variants that
have been added to the portfolio of vehicles in the
recent years include, the Tata Marcopolo’s New
Magna Luxury Coach in 2015, the Tata Starbus
Hybrid in 2017, the Xenon Yodha in 2017, the
next Generation Ultra Range of Trucks in 2018 w tata Starbus hybrid
w tata ultra electric Bus. and the most recent - the Signa 5525.S – India’s hispano Carrocera.
highest GCW prime mover (tractor) in the 4x2
segment and Signa 4825.TK, India’s largest
tipper truck in 2020.
w Tata Magna Bus w tata Signa 4825. w Tata Xenon yodha.
Marcopolo Brazil.
tata Motors association with the Defence Research and Development prerequisites of mobility, protection
defence sector started in 1940 and Organisation (DRDO). The company and fi repower in association with
continued to be of utmost priority has also developed the Light the Ordnance Factory Board.
for the company. In addition to Armoured Multi-role Vehicle However, in 2018 these operations
be a leading supplier of mobility (LAMV), a reconnaissance vehicle were hived off to Tata Advance
solutions to the Indian Army, Navy, that combines vital operational Systems.
Air Force and various Paramilitary
forces, the company also exports
its range of specialised Defence
vehicles to various nations. The
company started looking towards
the Combat vehicle space by
focusing on development of
contemporary state-of-the-art
combat vehicle platforms (Tracked
& Wheeled). It is the fi rst private
sector OEM in India which has
developed WhAP (Wheeled
Armoured Amphibious Platform), an
Infantry Combat Vehicle, designed
for optimised survivability, all
terrain performance and increased
lethality jointly with the Indian w ratan tata visited the exhibition “Know Your army” at Shivaji park Mumbai, 2004.
toDaY, the company’s ever-growing vehicle portfolio are years is a deep understanding of customer needs and the
marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle ability to translate them into customer desired off erings
East, South East Asia, South Asia and South America. It through leading edge R&D. The company’s Engineering
has franchisee/joint venture assembly operations in Kenya, Research Centre, established in 1966, has enabled
Bangladesh, Ukraine, Russia and Senegal. pioneering technologies and products. The company today
has R&D centres in Pune, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, in India
The foundation of the company’s growth over the last 75 and in South Korea, Spain and the UK.
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