India’s pride rolls onto PH streets this April

INDIA’S troops trust most Tata Motors’ diesel-powered armored van and pickups.

THE TWIST variant of the iconic Nano

MUMBAI — This car company’s products are as diverse as its country’s dialects and cuisine. Its range of target markets is as wide as its country’s socioeconomic strata. The company’s name consists of only two letters, and diversity and heritage are its pillars of strength. It also perfectly represents India, the seventh largest country in the world (by area) and the second most populous.

Tata Motors, a Fortune Global 500 company, is the creator of the world’s most affordable car, the Nano. But it has also recently acquired British luxury brand Jaguar and Land Rover.

Tata started out in 1860 with businesses in steel mills and tea plantations. Tata Locomotive and Engineering Co. came about in 1945, which started its involvement in the automobile business.

THE VISTA

Tata’s reputation has been shaped by its tendency to disrupt the price-to-performance paradigm. The book “Nanovation” cites a number of examples—such as its Swach water purifier, its housing projects, and most famously, its Nano supercompact. The Nano had been likened, in fact, to the game-changing Ford Model T. The book described the Nano not as the cheapest car but the most accessible to the most number of people.

WITH a 140-year Tata heritage (including 69 years in the locomotive and automotive industries) backing him up, Nicky Mariano, himself a 25-year veteran in the Philippine automotive industry, sees bright days ahead for Pilipinas Taj Autogroup.

However, to define Tata Motors as just a maker of affordable cars is to define an elephant only by its trunk. As what this writer discovered when Pilipinas Taj Autogroup Inc.— the Philippine distributor of Tata Motors’ passenger and commercial vehicles—brought her and a group of local motoring scribes on a tour of the automaker’s headquarters and manufacturing plant in Mumbai and Pune in India, Tata Motors also assembles battle-ready trucks, pickups and tanks for the Indian military and United Nations peacekeeping forces,  heavy-duty trucks and delivery vans for the construction and warehouse industries, and buses (in fact, Tata Motors is the world’s fourth largest bus and truck manufacturer).

Starting April 3, the Philippines will become the most recent nation to introduce Tata vehicles. According to Nicky Mariano, Pilipinas Taj Autogroup Inc. general manager, the introduction will happen in a big way at the Manila International Auto Show, where its Xenon 4×2 and 4×4 diesel-powered pickups, as well as the gasoline-powered Manza and Vista sedans, will be unveiled.

The Ace and Super Ace minitrucks will also be showcased, although these will be commercially available only starting July, along with Tata’s diesel-powered sedans.

THE PUNE plant houses a vehicle manufacturing complex, which is one of the most integrated auto manufacturing centers in India. Photos by Tessa R. Salazar

Philippine motoring media’s trip to culture-rich Mumbai and Pune on March 10 offered the opportunity for a sneak peek at what Pinoy motorists can expect from Tata Motors.

Mariano, a 25-year industry veteran, expressed confidence in his brand. “Tata Motors has been known to produce reliable workhorses and have been trusted for more than 50 years. The model lineup and Filipino consumers would make a great match,” he said.

Mariano added, “Pilipinas Taj Autogroup is more than happy to offer an alternative choice to the market.”

This writer was able to drive the Xenon 4×4 pickup, powered by a 2.2-liter diesel engine and currently used by Indian and UN troops, on an offroad route and at the speed track. Its performance in rough terrain was satisfying, while drive comfort was maintained.

The two-seater Super Ace minitruck was surprisingly comfortable and easy to drive. It had car-like interiors and a host of creature comforts for drivers and passenger.

The Nano was surprisingly spacious inside and could accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour relatively effortlessly. The biggest downside, however, is that the Nano will not be included in the Pilipinas Taj Autogroup lineup anytime soon.

Given the right introductory price points and an aggressive brand imaging campaign, Tata Motors can give other new automotive players in the Philippines a run for their money and even provide a much-better alternative to the used-car business.

And these are precisely what Mariano is hoping Pinoy buyers will see of Tata Motors—the diverse entirety and rich heritage of the automotive giant and not just the penny-pinching trunk of the elephant.

(More about Tata next week)