In a recent move, Tata Motors approved the scheme of arrangement for capital reduction of the Tata Motors DVR shares. In return, it will be issuing ordinary shares of Tata Motors as a consideration. Following the news, Tata Motors share price touched an all-time high of Rs 665.40 on NSE. Time Travel with this Business Today Visual Story to see how TELCO became Tata Motors, one of India's leading automaker
Formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), Tata Motors was founded in 1945, before India's independence, as a manufacturer of locomotives. In 1948, it introduced the steam road roller in collaboration with Marshall Sons (UK). The company rolled out its first commercial vehicle, the TMB 312 truck in 1954 in collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG
In 1964, the 1210 series of vehicles were set out by Tata Motors from Jamshedpur. Five years later, TELCO began to travel under the Tata brand. In the year 1975, Indian roads discovered the Tata 1210 semi-forward model
In 1983, TELCO commenced manufacturing Heavy Commercial Vehicles. Three years later, Tata LCV 407 was rolled out. It was in 1989 when the company entered the passenger vehicle market in 1988 with the launch of TataMobile followed by launch of Tata Sierra in 1991, becoming the first Indian manufacturer to achieve the capability of developing a competitive indigenous automobile. In 1992, it launched Tata Estate. Two years later the iconic multi-utility vehicle Tata Sumo was launched
In 1995, TELCO brought the three-pointed star meaning Mercedez-Benz to India. In 1998, India's first sports utility vehicle, the Tata Safari was launched. The same year, it also launched the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car, Tata Indica. A newer version of the car, Indica V2, later appeared. In 2002, the company launched India's first fully indigenous sedan Tata Indigo. In 2004, Tata Motors acquired Daewoo's South Korea-based truck manufacturing unit
In 2005, the company launched a wide range of fully built buses and coaches called 'GLOBUS' and 'STARBUS' brands. In the same year, the company launched India's first mini truck Tata ACE, and India's first Sports Utility Truck (SUT) Tata TL 4x4. In 2007, Tata Magic, and Tata Winger, India's only maxi-van at the time, was launched
In January 2008, the 'People's Car' Tata Nano was officially launched. Tata Sons chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has said then, "The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional barriers. I hope it will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car. We are delighted in presenting the Tata Nano to India and the world.”
Tata Motors has been the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover since the company established it for the acquisition of Jaguar Cars and Land Rover from Ford in 2008. The Jaguar Land Rover range was launched in India in 2009. Tata Motors made a series of other acquisitions and partnerships, joint ventures with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, Tata Marcopolo Bus, Hispano Carrocera, and an 80% stake in the Italian design and engineering company Trilix
Tata Motors has launched several iconic cars, SUVs over the last few years. Its first EV was the Tigor EV, launched in June 2019, but was only made available to fleet operators at the time. While the electric compact sedan was later also made available to private buyers, it was the Nexon EV launched in January 2020 that really took off Tata’s EV plan. As of June this year, Tata Motors' market share in the M&HCV segment is 44%, PV OEM segment 13.47%, and two-wheeler OEM 17.29%
Recently in 2023, Tata Group company Tata Technologies got SEBI’s nod for an IPO. Tata Motors holds 74.69% in Tata Tech, a company offering engineering, research and development services in the automotive, aerospace, and software space. Tata Motors plans to sell 26.77 percent of its stake in Tata Tech and utilise the proceeds to reduce its debt