From the Indica to the Nano: How Ratan Tata transformed India’s auto landscape

Ratan Tata’s indelible mark across India’s industrial landscape is one that is normally formed after several lifetimes. Although Tata can be credited for transforming the Tata Group, it was arguably his singular vision for Tata Motors that marked the greatest evolutionary leap for India’s automotive industry, bringing-in a level of autonomy at a time when it was still heavily reliant on Japanese technology. Tata’s leadership led to some of Tata Motors’ most significant milestones, fighting overwhelming odds, and underscoring India’s economic might in the process.
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Although Tata Motors, then known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd. (TELCO) began its journey in 1954, producing commercial vehicles; it didn’t come of age until the arrival of the Indica in 1998. Sure, the Sierra and the Tata Estate were signifiers of both, a liberalized India and Tata’s intent as a serious carmaker. But the Indica was the first indigenous product built and designed keeping in mind India’s aspirations, needs and its challenging infrastructure. Tata wasn’t the only one to recognise the car as an engine of rapid economic growth. A truly localized Indian hatchback had been attempted in the past, most famously by Sanjay Gandhi, but it proved to be a far too great a challenge for pre-liberalization India.
All mass mobilisers of a nation are a product of their environment. The Citroen 2CV was designed to traverse a semi-agricultural French landscape, the Fiat 500 – Italy’s narrow, cobbled roads and so on. The Tata Indica was a product of Indian aspirations and needs in a manner even the 800 wasn’t. The Maruti 800 brought-in reliability and frugality to India’s then barren automotive landscape, the Indica brought in greater practicality, more space and with its Turin-born design, a level of desirability that the entry-level market had not seen thus far. Tata recognised the need for luggage space, as Indians were traditionally heavy packers prone to carrying large containers of home made food, as mentioned in Harish Bhat’s “Tata Indica: The Very First Indian Car”. Furthermore, the Indica did what no hatchback had done before: it brought the fuel efficiency of a diesel motor to the family hatch. Although it was primarily a sum of globally imported parts, it did bring in new manufacturing capabilities to the Tata Motors fold with a transmission system designed in-house. For the rest, Tata shopped around the globe. The first Indian car, whose initial sketches were provided by Tata himself, featured Italian design, but, according to Bhat’s book “3800 components, 700-plus dies and 4000 fixtures were designed back home in Pune”. The brand did have to rely on foreign expertise to be a guiding force, as it had no historic precedent for what was considered, within India, an over-ambitious undertaking that could make or break the company with a product that needed roughly ₹1700 crores in investments. Expertise for the engine came from France and production equipment from Nissan, which had closed its Australian manufacturing operation.
The Indica, upon launch, was far from a perfect car, with many teething issues. But it got the broad strokes right, which were later perfected by the Indica V2 – a more reliable, field-tested product that restored customer confidence. But the venture had paid off and the critics both Indian and international were silenced. The Indica was a success.
The Indica was Tata Motors’ first commercial success. The Nano was a streamlined version of that vision, aiming to bring mobility to those masses which could not afford the Indica. And Ratan Tata was something of a wunderkind when it came to streamlining operations.
According to a research paper on the Nano published by the University of Virginia, “Tata sought the bulk of its cost savings in a streamlined, modular design in which many components served more than one function. Perhaps most notably, the car’s components could be built at separate facilities and shipped for local manufacture
The Nano may not have served its intended purpose. Unlike the Indica which served to offer more for less, the Nano was seen as the lowest common denominator of cars.
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Unlike mass mobilisers of the past which emerged at a time when automotive technology was novel and war-ravaged economies had lowered aspirations, the Nano had several precedents that were seen as superior. But it offered a glimpse into Ratan Tata’s entrepreneurial genius, and into the mind-boggling logistical tight-rope act it is to mass produce a truly ambitious low-cost car. Tata aimed to empower the country’s multitude of bush mechanics, who, in his words, would serve as “satellite assembly operations” for the brand. The Nano was not a mechanical failure as much as it was a marketing mishap, but before that it was an idea so powerful, it made waves even before its launch.
In the months preceding the car’s launch used car sales for the likes of the Maruti 800 fell by 30%. With the then (2007) second-largest two-wheeler market in the world, Tata sought to bring the safety and comfort, not to mention social legitimacy to India’s vast two-wheeler riding multitude with a car that cost only three times as much as an average two-wheeler. The Indian economy was booming and the Nano seemed primed to capture that sentiment. Unfortunately, the Nano’s unconventional shape, and it’s all-too evident barebones structure was visibly indicative of cost-saving measures when it was launched in 2008. Unlike the Indica, the Nano Twist failed to salvage the Nano’s image, particularly at a time when Maruti Suzuki had counter-offensives in the form of the Alto. But the Nano was still a triumph – it was one of the world’s most fuel efficient cars, despite its diminutive footprint, it offered more interior room than the 800, was very easy to maneuver and drive inside tight spaces. Despite how it was positioned, it provided a level of comfort at a price point that was thus far unheard of.
Although Tata Motors has refuted all claims regarding the revival of the Nano brand, it begs to be baptized as a low-range, low-cost inner city EV.
Back in 2009, in an episode of the hit BBC TV show Top Gear journalist and presenter Jeremy Clarkson said “A little company called Tata have just shown their new car. And here it is, the Jaguar XJ!” Ratan Tata oversaw what was arguably the most significant moment for any Indian corporate entity. Clarkson, known for his comically dismissive remarks, wasn’t very accurate. By the time it acquired JLR, Tata Motors was the sixth-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world. In 2004, it was the first Indian manufacturing company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover boosted Indian nationalistic pride in a manner several cricket World Cup victories couldn’t. Tata hadn’t just purchased a British icon, it had purchased it from the Ford Motor Company that had infamously mocked Tata’s attempts at making an affordable car, refusing sale of Tata’s passenger car vertical by asking Tata why he entered the car business at all.
Jaguar Land Rover had traded hands several times before it was purchased from Ford. Given that its acquisition was followed, five years later by Tata’s own retirement, it was his swan song. The world took note of Tata Motors as a company of consequence. According to Ray Hutton, author of Jewels in the Crown: How Tata of India Transformed Britain’s Jaguar and Land Rover Tata reassured everyone that “The feel of Jaguar and Land Rover would not be tinkered in any way (…) Our challenge will be to nurture the brands and make them thrive”. The sale was completed on the 2nd of June 2008 for $2.3 billion. Jaguar went on to produce some of its most sensational sedans and sports cars under Tata’s ownership, as did Land Rover, morphing its iconic Range Rover from an emblem of old British money to a global luxury tour-de-force.
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