Tata Indica story: A meeting was going on between Ratan Tata and Bill Ford at the headquarters of car manufacturing company Ford in Detroit city of America. Bill Ford was the chairman of the company. This is around the year 1999. The agenda of the meeting was clear – selling the passenger vehicle business of Tata Indica car to Ford. Tata Motors was incurring huge losses in the Indica project and the company’s board felt that perhaps the right way forward was to sell the business. While going to the meeting and while attending the meeting, Ratan Tata’s heart was breaking.
Just imagine, what would have been the atmosphere in that meeting hall. On one hand, the chairman of India’s largest group, who made a car with his hard work, and on the other hand, a big player in the American car market. Ratan Tata started talking about the deal, but the attitude of Bill Ford and his team was very insulting. Bill Ford said to Ratan Tata in an almost sarcastic tone, “When you had no knowledge of making passenger cars, why did you start this business? We are doing you a favor by buying this business of yours.” This one sentence shook Ratan Tata to the core. Only he would know what he thought at that time.
Bill Ford.
This insult completely changed the tone of the meeting. Ratan Tata rejected the deal at that very moment and returned back to India with his team. This incident was not just a failed business deal, but it proved to be a turning point for the Tata Group. Ratan Tata decided that he would no longer sell his car company, but would make it so big and successful that the world would keep watching. It was this fire of humiliation that inspired him to save his car company and take it to the international level. Today, the same Tata Group has launched one of its iconic SUVs, the Tata Sierra in a modern form, in both electric and petrol variants at a starting ex-showroom price of just Rs 11.49 lakh. The company now has many passenger vehicles in its portfolio and the company’s stature in this market has become quite big.
Ratan Tata’s Birthday: 28 December
Ratan Tata’s early life was not very comfortable. Even though he was born into India’s largest business house ‘Tata’, his parents were divorced, and he was raised by his grandmother Nawabai. It can be said that his upbringing was very basic. He did his studies in the US, taking a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering. When he returned to India after completing his studies, he initially started working with Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. What would that scene have been like, the heir of such a big family, removing coal and limestone with a shovel. This was part of the training where he was taught to connect with the land.
Then came 1991, when Ratan Tata got J.R.D. Got the reins of Tata Group from Tata. At that time Tata Group was very big, but also scattered. Ratan Tata’s biggest dream was to make a cheap and good car for the common man of India. This was not just a business decision, but an emotional decision. He wanted that families who travel with children on scooters should get a safe and comfortable vehicle.
Tata Indica: The first pure Indian passenger car
The first step to fulfill this dream was – Tata Indica. A lot of money and a lot of hard work went into this project. Indica was launched in the market in 1998. Ratan Tata launched this car by calling it “India’s first completely Indian passenger car”. People also raised hopes, but initially Indica suffered a big setback. Customers complained about the vehicle. There is an old saying, “It is easy to dream, but difficult to implement them.”
Tata Indica Car.
The initial sale did not go as expected. The losses increased and the company came under great financial pressure. Now this is where the story of Ratan Tata and Indica becomes more interesting. In view of the losses, a discussion started in the board that this loss-making car business should be sold. Ratan Tata’s heart was not agreeing, but in business, mathematics works more than emotions.
Then, one day Ratan Tata and his team reached the headquarters of America’s famous car company Ford. This was the moment when he probably had to take the most bitter sip in the business. For Ratan Tata and his team, this was not just a business meeting, it was an insult. He was made fun of. That insult hurt Ratan Tata deeply. He immediately changed his decision to sell the business. He left the deal midway and came back to India.
Kundan got burnt in the fire of insult
You must have also heard that the decisions taken in the fire of insult either destroy a person or take him to the heights of heaven. Ratan Tata decided that he would not sell his car company, but would make it one of the best companies in the world.
After returning to India, Ratan Tata worked diligently on the production and design of Indica. He rectified the shortcomings, improved the product and within a few years, Indica sales started skyrocketing. This was a big turning point for him.
The wheel of time turned in 2008, Tata became king
The wheel of time always turns and has turned. This is from the year 2008, when there was a huge economic crisis in America. At the same time Ford company was running in loss. The same Ford company, whose chairman had insulted Ratan Tata’s team. There were two very prestigious brands in their luxury car division – Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford wanted to sell both of them.
Now, eight years later, the tables had turned. This time Ford’s team reached ‘Bombay House’, the headquarters of Tata Group to sell these two prestigious companies. Bill Ford himself was in front of him to sell his most brilliant companies.
Ratan Tata is a great business leader, he never acted out of revenge. He dealt with Ford with complete civility. He bought Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) for about $2.3 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore at that time). He not only made the deal, but he also told Bill Ford that he would help with the remaining Ford business.
this deal not just a deal Yes, this was a big lesson for the business world.
Gave new identity to Tata Motors
When Jaguar Land Rover came to Tata Group, it was incurring losses. But under the leadership of Ratan Tata, Tata Motors revived both these British brands. Today JLR is the most profitable division of Tata Motors and has a distinct identity across the world. This success increased the market cap of Tata Motors manifold.
Tata Nano.
Ratan Tata’s story is not just about making cars, it is a story of not giving up. After Indica, he dreamed of making the country’s cheapest car, Tata Nano and also fulfilled it. The idea of Nano came to him when he saw a family traveling unsafely on a scooter. This was also an emotional and ground-breaking decision. Even though Nano did not do business as per expectations, it established Ratan Tata as a visionary leader.
Ratan Tata said goodbye to this world on 9 October 2024. Before this, he had done such work that his name will always be respected in the business world. If a movie is made on this story of Ratan Tata’s life, it can be a super-duper hit.
