[wheelguy]

Tata Motors will be embarking on a new journey to resurrect its local passenger vehicles business almost lying in shambles in the highly competitive home market, where constant reverses are much more than any laurels achieved so far. While its long time Chinese partner Chery is the frontrunner to revive this sagging business, ETAuto scrutinises the multiple Chinese probables currently under diligence of Tata Motors after it has carved out a new subsidiary of the PV business to be fully functional on a standalone basis to revive it in the last bit ambit to combat rising competition in the home market.

According to sources both the companies - the PV subsidiary under Shailesh Chandra - are looking to jointly develop a new product onslaught at the backend and the new synergies would lead to better build and quality of vehicles. Ideally these would help the company to take on new competitors like the South Korean Kia Motors and Great Wall Motors of China that are expected to take competition to the next level amids a slowing Indian market.

“The plan devised after a marathon of strategic decisions to resurrect the passenger car business with some assistance from Chery, if all goes through. The coronavirus pandemic has fastened the process and most of the negotiations have gone online through the digital route...” says a person close to the developments.

Full article and source at: link

[giri1.8]

This is going to upset lot of youtube fanboys

Of all the companies I have dealt with, Tata has been the least ethical one to date! Hope someone can sprinkle some ethics into their dealership.

[Nithesh_M]

Let's just say this move will anger a lot of people who were angry about Koreans/Chinese car makers this week.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

Let's just say this move will anger a lot of people who were angry about Koreans/Chinese car makers this week.

Not Koreans.

The Chinese.

Big time disappointed that Tata decided to get a chinese partner for its PV division.
Don't know the intricacies of automotive industry to say what's good for business, but it's definitely NOT the products or R&D that's the Achilles heel of Tata. Infact, except for the slow approach to powertrain development, Tata is at thier best regarding product development.

It is the Sales and after sales support that needs revamping. ASAP, especially after sales support.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Even beyond the fanboys- it is hard to imagine TATA Motors (or even Mahindra for that matter!) as a Chinese partner company. Both these companies have become synonymous with the pride of Indian ownership.

But then - TATA Motors cannot keep up this game for long without a partnership either. They've been at their absolute best in the recent past, but that has done little to revive sales. Mahindra has also gone the same route with Ssangyong and Ford partnerships - but that never raised as many eyeballs as the hint of a TATA-Cherry partnership does!

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Not Koreans.

The Chinese.

.

People were recently questioning those who would buy Kia/Hyundai products because Hyundai/Kia had a decent March sales numbers for Creta/Seltos. Some were demanding that its time everyone stuck to desi manufacturers.

[payeng]

Was just warming up to the Idea of getting a TATA as my next 4W... but if the Rumor becomes true, then I'll definitely opt for a Mahindra.

[jetsetgo08]

Rant alert.

If this realizes, the pride of driving a car made by an Indian company goes out of the window. Sorry Tata Motors, whatever little sales were being garnered were mostly due to those fans who held their head high of driving a car from a Indian company. The potential collab with a foreign company could further diminish sales. Agreed that the Indian market has been ruthless but please don't wave a white flag this soon.

[padmrajravi]

I hope this stays as a rumor and not materialize into an actual equity partnership. I am a Tata fanboy and being an indigenous manufacturer is a big part of that appeal.

What they need to improve is the quality of manufacturing and the Chinese are masters of quality manufacturing these days. Maybe that is where they need support. Aftersales service is more or less on par with others, but the problem is that a Tata ASS faces far more complaints per 100 cars than a Hyundai or Toyota service center. And that has an effect on service center staff too.

[Vishal.R]

It's an E.T. article, so authenticity is always questionable. Also in current time, it's really difficult to imagine that someone would finalize any investment. But at the same time, due to the overall situation of the auto industry, it's very logical to consolidate and recent restructuring also points that TATA leadership is thinking in that direction. So looking for a partner seems logical, I am not convinced about speculation about Chinese (or any other specific partner) at this stage.

The current state of stock markets is also not favourable for the seller in any such deal.

[octane_100]

Not the best time for Tata to be tying up (if true) with a Chinese manufacturer. With the Covid outbreak and the way China has handled it so far has not earned it any Goodwill. Personally would be disappointed if Tata goes ahead with this move.

[narayan]

I hope Tata will explore partnerships with other players too - e.g
1. Japanese - why not Nissan ?
2. Germans - VW group is majorly looking lost in India. Can't the 2 groups work out something ? Possibly extend it later to CVs as well to take on Bharat Benz products
3. French - Peugeot Citroen - they have been planning an India launch for some time now.

Lots of options out there. What might have looked impossible few years back is all the more possible now with the demands arising out of disruption in the automotive sector and the big picture of economic slow down due to covid

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Vishal.R

Also in current time, it's really difficult to imagine that someone would finalize any investment.

Well, this is not a new development as such. Birdies have been chirping since ages on a possible tie-up between TATA Motors and one of the Chinese companies, especially Cherry.

1. There were rumours earlier that TATA Motors and Cherry were co-developing the new Blackbird SUV. In fact, TATA - Cherry rumours go back several years!
2. Prior to the Chinese discussions, TATA Motors had tried to partner with VAG.
3. Recently we also got the scoop of TATA Motors splitting its PV business into a separate business entity.

So, if at all a partnership is announced - this would be the result of discussions that started much earlier than Corona or the resultant threat of recession in the market.

[WorkingGuru]

Surely a massive PR issue for a brand which is anyway going to go down the drain if they tie up with/sell to a Chinese(!) car maker (at this juncture when the entire country is hating on the Chinese). I don't think they themselves see any future partnering with a Chinese car-maker & co-existing as an Indian brand. IMO they could see more sense on it being sold away, while the Tata Group can concentrate on operating its profitable businesses. I don't know how it works, but if they can legally buy-back shares and go private, then the sale transaction can be kept private. I don't think they'll get a great price for the PVBU either, in the current environment. Bitter pill.

Edit : One remote possibility is that it can be sold off to Mahindra, like they sold off Docomo (Tata Teleservices) to Bharti Airtel.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Tying up with a Chinese company is going to be an absolute PR disaster for Tata Motors. Their single biggest USP is the fact that the product you buy is 100% made in India. That, and the goodwill of the Tata group itself which has been at the forefront of all kinds of industrial and humanitarian causes. As a Hexa owner, as good as the car is, this is a big part of the charm. At some level, simply buying a Tata product has an element of making a charitable contribution, you know your money is going into good hands and will be made available to those in need during any crisis. Now if a third party gets directly involved, and especially one from China, it will upset a lot of existing and potential buyers.