From the get-go, I figured that Jaguar
and Land Rover being bought by the Indian Tata conglomerate would be
a perfect marriage. OK, so maybe a three-way.
Not that this was a universally-held opinion (I'm kinda used to that).
Tata is a massive world-wide
organization. They even have several thousand employees here in Canada,
mostly in IT.
But few who don't actually work for the
company have any idea it even exists.
My thought was that if Tata could be successful managing
two iconic brands with world-wide renown, it would help put them on the public perception
map.
That part of it has worked out far
better than anyone dared hope. Tata has helped Jaguar and Land Rover
finance the development of brilliant new models (e.g., the Jaguar F-Type and Land Rover Evoque; I'm sure you can tell which photo is which). According to my
sources, as long as the two car makers keep "hitting their
numbers", Tata management leaves them alone to do what they do best.
Sales of both brands are strong
everywhere.
Meanwhile, Tata's share of the
automotive market in India has seldom been worse, dipping into
single-digit territory. India is largely (you should pardon the
expression) a small-car market, and Tata is getting its butt handed
to it by Suzuki and Hyundai.
The company's much-touted "Nano" (I'm sure you can pick that one out too...)
was supposed to be the cheapest new car in the world. It was
intended to do for India and the rest of south-east Asia what the
Model T Ford did for North America and the Volkswagen Beetle did for
Germany - provide reliable transportation for the masses.
But the car has been a dismal flop. My
Indian colleagues tell me the car isn't all that bad, but few new-car
buyers, even first-timers, want to be known as having had to settle
for "the cheapest car in the world".
Tata has recently upgraded the Nano, trying to turn it into a hip 'urban car' for young people.
But new product is always what moves the
car biz, and Tata hasn't had an all-new model since 2010.
You would have to think the company is
too big and too smart to allow this to go on.
Then again, we are only a few years
removed from when car companies with a much larger global footprint
than Tata almost went under.
Can Tata recover, with or without
government assistance?
Time will tell.