Tata motors - A threat to US auto industry

Zappo · 27th May 2007, 16:51

Well said steer. Very well put. The problem with us in this country is that we tend to run down our in-house efforts very easily but something similar from anywhere abroad is considered a superior effort with the idea that if it is good for the world it must be the best.

Tatas are conservative. Its not only in their perspective but also in their approach to communication and marketing. This gets taken in as aloofness and don't care a damn attitude. However they have proven again and again that they do more than they promise.

Give them another decade, or may be even less and they may very well pull a corus on the automotive world.

pugram · 27th May 2007, 18:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

So if the Wall Street Journal says that Tata Motors is a long-term threat, take it seriously. VERY Seriously.

They realize this - the question is, do we?

Great Steer !!!!..

I hope every body realises the same. They were the ones who had the foresight as to what needs to be done and when. TCS is a classic case in Point.

Hail the TATA's for their ingenuity and business smartness.

vabs78 · 27th May 2007, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

They realize this - the question is, do we?

Very well said Steer...

We people have so much inferiority complex... while comparing with US and other western countries we should keep in mind that we are just 60+ yrs old nation vs. 200+ yrs old nations

Mayavi · 27th May 2007, 20:09

SuperSyn only needs to read about the making of ACE. How TATA started out working on a three wheel vehicle and ended up with a four wheel vehicle, which has become a runaway success, all because they bothered to ask the target consumer what they really want. One consumer told TATA that he would prefer a four wheel goods transporter instead of a three wheeled one as it would improve his status in his village and hence will get a good bride. That is research and risk taking my friend, and if that is Bania mentality, I like all of Indian enterpreneurs to be banias.

svsantosh · 8th August 2008, 17:07

i am not trying to dig a old thread - but any one can feel free to comment on the #1 post in this thread - after NANO, many heads have sure turned east...!!! (and west - if you are a japnese/korean

)

dkamath · 8th August 2008, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by svsantosh

i am not trying to dig a old thread - but any one can feel free to comment on the #1 post in this thread - after NANO, many heads have sure turned east...!!! (and west - if you are a japnese/korean

)

...And what a better way to make a humble entry into the US market with 250 units of the Electric ACE. Guess that it's the "think small" attitude at work here. They would expand the model range once they gain access to the market.

phamilyman · 8th August 2008, 18:46

Isnt it simpler to let them go into insolvency and buy them out?

8th August 2008, 19:18

Nano
JLR acquisition
Air car
Striking new models

Who's laughing now?

things have changed in just a year since this thread was started.

svsantosh · 8th August 2008, 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Isnt it simpler to let them go into insolvency and buy them out?

OMG - I ALMOST FORGOT...

Guess who OWNS LAND ROVER/Jag now

(and who owned them earlier???)

sujaylahiri · 9th August 2008, 13:58

I think Tata should follow the Honda way and be a small but profitable auto manufacturer instead of concentrating on sales like Toyota and GM.

It's a good thing though that the West is showing faith in South Asian auto companies, although I still feel that companies like Tata should have taken the initiative about 30 years back, so that by now they should have at least been at par with someone like Hyundai.

The Indian Govt. should have opened up the economy in the 70's, not in the 90's. All I can say is - Better late than never.

sridhga · 9th August 2008, 16:10

I never thought that the 'threat' to GM and Ford is Joke. The threat is very much for real. To understand this you got to understand business. Tata Motors has better access to funds today than any European/ American Auto company. When Tata Motors got listed on NYSE, I saw American TV programs where analysts have given it a thumping positive rating. And analysts were more enthusiastic about Tata Motors that they were about GM. Let us now look at the sales figures that some of you were making fun of. Yes, Tata Motors is a very smaller company. Agreed. Did you know that those 50B USD per quarter companies are making huge losses every quarter? Did you know General Motors makes losses on its car business and makes profit only on its Vehicle finance division? Did you know that the ever mounting losses of GM forced it to sell its only profitable division viz. Vehicle finance? Do you know how profitable Tata Motors is? Let me tell you how the business world works. Very large companies are always confronted with small nimble companies. On a normal level playing field, the smaller company always loses the game, due to economies of scale involved in business. But smaller companies can catch the bull by the horns and defeat it. That is possible through Innovation. This thing called innovation tilts the playing field favorable to the smaller companies. Examples of this phenomenon is Amazon taking over Barnes and Noble, Walmart taking over JC Penny, Google taking over Microsoft in some segments. If you understand Tata Motors it is exactly doing the same. And even more importantly it is getting entrenched with emerging markets like India, Brazil, South Africa etc., where there seems to be future. If you look at big players both American and Japanese they seem stuck with American market which is getting nowhere and is not proving to be profitable. Tata group has a strong business strategy. They have money raising prowess. Moreover, they are prodding their businesses to be innovative. Look at Ace, Air powered car, Nano and Tata investments in Coal to diesel technologies. I can see the future of the automobile in them, but not in those American clunkers.

directinjection · 11th August 2008, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by v1p3r

But Tata Motors is largely the work of one man, Ratan Tata. He needs to be around for that long.

Two men actually. Ratan Tata inherited a great organisation created by a Maharashtrian gentleman named Sumant Moolgaonkar who guided Tata Motors for four decades. The laurels Mr Tata has since won for the Company wouldn't have been possible without Sumant's efforts.

Tata Motors : 50 Years
#PgeTit#=

27th May 2007, 16:51	#31
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,922 Thanked: 2,699 Times	Well said steer. Very well put. The problem with us in this country is that we tend to run down our in-house efforts very easily but something similar from anywhere abroad is considered a superior effort with the idea that if it is good for the world it must be the best. Tatas are conservative. Its not only in their perspective but also in their approach to communication and marketing. This gets taken in as aloofness and don't care a damn attitude. However they have proven again and again that they do more than they promise. Give them another decade, or may be even less and they may very well pull a corus on the automotive world.
	() Thanks

27th May 2007, 20:09	#34
Mayavi BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Scottsdale Posts: 682 Thanked: 9 Times View My Garage	SuperSyn only needs to read about the making of ACE. How TATA started out working on a three wheel vehicle and ended up with a four wheel vehicle, which has become a runaway success, all because they bothered to ask the target consumer what they really want. One consumer told TATA that he would prefer a four wheel goods transporter instead of a three wheeled one as it would improve his status in his village and hence will get a good bride. That is research and risk taking my friend, and if that is Bania mentality, I like all of Indian enterpreneurs to be banias.
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 17:07	#35
svsantosh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Dubai Posts: 4,005 Thanked: 6,337 Times View My Garage	i am not trying to dig a old thread - but any one can feel free to comment on the #1 post in this thread - after NANO, many heads have sure turned east...!!! (and west - if you are a japnese/korean )
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 18:46	#37
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Isnt it simpler to let them go into insolvency and buy them out?
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 19:18	#38
rippergeo Posts: n/a	Nano JLR acquisition Air car Striking new models Who's laughing now? things have changed in just a year since this thread was started.
	() Thanks

9th August 2008, 13:58	#40
sujaylahiri BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North America Posts: 960 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	I think Tata should follow the Honda way and be a small but profitable auto manufacturer instead of concentrating on sales like Toyota and GM. It's a good thing though that the West is showing faith in South Asian auto companies, although I still feel that companies like Tata should have taken the initiative about 30 years back, so that by now they should have at least been at par with someone like Hyundai. The Indian Govt. should have opened up the economy in the 70's, not in the 90's. All I can say is - Better late than never.
	() Thanks

9th August 2008, 16:10	#41
sridhga BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 191 Thanked: 43 Times	I never thought that the 'threat' to GM and Ford is Joke. The threat is very much for real. To understand this you got to understand business. Tata Motors has better access to funds today than any European/ American Auto company. When Tata Motors got listed on NYSE, I saw American TV programs where analysts have given it a thumping positive rating. And analysts were more enthusiastic about Tata Motors that they were about GM. Let us now look at the sales figures that some of you were making fun of. Yes, Tata Motors is a very smaller company. Agreed. Did you know that those 50B USD per quarter companies are making huge losses every quarter? Did you know General Motors makes losses on its car business and makes profit only on its Vehicle finance division? Did you know that the ever mounting losses of GM forced it to sell its only profitable division viz. Vehicle finance? Do you know how profitable Tata Motors is? Let me tell you how the business world works. Very large companies are always confronted with small nimble companies. On a normal level playing field, the smaller company always loses the game, due to economies of scale involved in business. But smaller companies can catch the bull by the horns and defeat it. That is possible through Innovation. This thing called innovation tilts the playing field favorable to the smaller companies. Examples of this phenomenon is Amazon taking over Barnes and Noble, Walmart taking over JC Penny, Google taking over Microsoft in some segments. If you understand Tata Motors it is exactly doing the same. And even more importantly it is getting entrenched with emerging markets like India, Brazil, South Africa etc., where there seems to be future. If you look at big players both American and Japanese they seem stuck with American market which is getting nowhere and is not proving to be profitable. Tata group has a strong business strategy. They have money raising prowess. Moreover, they are prodding their businesses to be innovative. Look at Ace, Air powered car, Nano and Tata investments in Coal to diesel technologies. I can see the future of the automobile in them, but not in those American clunkers. Last edited by sridhga : 9th August 2008 at 16:11.
	() Thanks