New horizons Tata Motors

NEW HORIZONS

Tata Motors is part of the USD 100 billion Tata Group founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868. Tata Motors continues to capture market share globally with its ‘Horizon Next’ strategy and advanced high-tech vehicles. It is also leading the industry in its on-going commitment to sustainability. Recently its top suppliers received awards for their dedicated services to the company. Philip Yorke reports.

Today Tata motors Limited is a $42 billion organisation with a broad automotive portfolio that covers a wide range of cars, sports vehicles, buses, trucks and defence vehicles. These well-known marques can be found on and off road in more than 175 countries worldwide.

With its pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit, the Tata Group has spawned many industries of national importance including steel, hydropower, hospitality and airlines. The same spirit, coupled with a natural flair for innovation, has given birth to Tata Motors, which produced India’s first indigenously developed car, the Tata Indici, and the small city car, the Tata Nano. Pursuit of excellence is at the heart of all the Tata Group’s activities and this is manifested in its next generation of vehicles that offer advanced terrain response, which includes infrared laser scanning to predict terrain, and ‘Wade Aid’ to predict water depth, by its Jaguar Land Rover models. New product line-up

Honouring its promise to introduce new products every year, Tata Motors showcased its future range of passenger vehicles at the Auto Expo 2016 that fall within its ‘Made of Great Promise’ undertaking to auto consumers. The new product line-up features the sporty compact saloon, that is project codenamed ‘Kite 5’; and the production-ready, lifestyle SUV, the Hexa, which is available in automatic and manual variants. This and the compact SUV Nexon are the personalised editions of the new passenger vehicles from Tata Motors. The new hatchback saloon has been showcased for the first time at the Auto Expo 2016 and while it carries the ‘Zica’ label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced in the next few weeks.

Tata Motors has partnered with Jayem Automotives for the development of performance and special vehicles. The new partnership

will bring alive the next level of personalisation with performance enhancement kits as well as design modifications.

The key models showcased at the Auto Expo 2016 include the Zica, which is making its first public appearance as the cool hatchback from Tata Motors. The new car is backed with the motto, ‘What drives us from within is what makes us great’. On the sports utility front, production-ready Hexa is a path-breaking offering in the lifestyle of the SUV segment and was first showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015. It comes with a bold design and sharp cosmetic features reflecting the newly defined design language: IMPACT. The Nexon on the other hand is a bold, elegant and sporty, compact SUV which comes with dynamic, new generation, best-inclass diesel and petrol engines.

In addition, Tata Motors has announced the launch of its much-awaited dynamic hatchback, the Tiago. This all new vehicle features cutting-edge design, technology and driving dynamics to create new automotive benchmarks in its segment. The Tiago offers class-defining driving dynamics with a new Revotron 1.2L engine and the debut of the Revotorq engine, plus 1.56 diesel engine for a refined on-road performance. Available in five dynamic variants and in six exciting colour options, it also boasts segment-first applications like the ‘Tum-by-tum’ Navi app and the Juke-Car app. Focus on excellence

Addressing around 200 suppliers in Pune, Cyrus P. Mistry, chairman of the Tata Group, said at the 2016 annual vendors’ meeting: “There will be zero tolerance on non-compliance on quality.” A Tata spokesman added, “Tata Motors remains committed to the highest quality standards and this continues to be emphasised at all our forums, including various supplier forums. Various initiatives towards enhanced product and supplier quality are a key part of the company’s ‘Horizon Next’ strategy in recent years, to continue being a market leader and to gain improved market share.”

Horizo Next is the articulation of Tata Motors’ mission to be passionate in anticipating customer needs and fulfilling them through better products, better services and an enriched buying experience. It drives the company’s strategic vision to be among the most admired global companies.

Tata Motors, which so far has been exporting cars to neighbouring markets, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, will be entering new export destinations over the next two years. This makes it all the more important that high standards are maintained across all the company’s models.

At a recent supplier award ceremony, Om Logistics was awarded the ‘Best Logistics Services Provider’ for the year 2015 from Tata Motors.

SETCO AUTOMOTIVE

Setco Automotive (Estd. In 1982) is a BSE listed company, headquartered in Mumbai, India. Setco is a vertically integrated company with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India, the UK and the US. It produces a range of premium clutches for the Commercial Vehicle and Farm Tractor industry, all made to global quality standards to meet the demands of OEM customers in India and overseas. The company is a leader in its chosen segment thanks to timely deliveries, cost effectiveness, ability to customise according to specific demands and continuous investment in R&D.

Setco has been supplying Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (MHCV) clutches to Tata Motors for over two decades. As Tata is an extremely trusted brand with more than 60% of the local market in India, it is Setco’s priority to meet their most exacting demands. The relationship between the companies is symbiotic: as Tata upgrades its platforms, so does Setco – thus facilitating growth in India and internationally. For more information, please visit: www.setcoauto.com

This is the third time in a row that the company has received the coveted award. Om Logistics is the flagship company of the Om Group and is an Indian Multi-Modal logistics company. It offers clients a single window logistics experience by integrating services across the supply chain from transportation to warehousing.

Another noticeable contributor and award winner was Inteva Products LLC, which is a leading supplier of engineered components and innovative systems for automotive products that are environmentally friendly and enhance vehicle quality, safety and performance. The company was awarded TATA’s Best Supplier Award for Quality. Inteva India consistently exceeds TATA Motors’ high quality targets and has received the award as cited by TATA Motors directors “in recognition of an extraordinary contribution that brings value to our partnership”

Driving future growth

In February this year Tata Motors announced the appointment of a new CEO and managing director. Guenter Butschek will lead all operations of Tata Motors in India as well as in its international markets. This will include South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and South Africa. Jaguar Land Rover will continue to be managed by its Chief Executive Officer and managing Director Dr Ralf Speth, who is also on the board of Tata Motors.

Cyrus P. Mistry said: “Tata Motors is going through an exciting yet challenging phase and Mr Butschek’s appointment comes at an opportune moment. He brings with him rich global experience of growing organisations and developing new markets. I am confident that Mr Butschek’s ability to lead high performing teams will enable our company to achieve sustainable, profitable growth.”

New strategic defence partnership

Tata Motors has announced a strategic partnership with Bharat Forge and General Dynamics Land Systems for the Indian FICV (Future Infantry Combat Vehicle) programme. Tata Motors will lead the consortium, with Bharat Forge as a partner, while General Dynamic Land Systems will bring in its much proven expertise in combat platform vehicles.

Tata Motors plans to play on its strengths related to design, development and integration of mobility platforms. To be developed under the ‘Make’ category, the FIVC is a high-mobility armoured battle vehicle for infantry men to keep pace with new advancements in weaponry systems.

The new FIVC needs to be compact, tracked and amphibious and no heavier than 20 tons, so it can be air-portable and transportable by other means onto combat zones. The vehicle must also be able to fire anti-tank guided missiles.

Commenting on the partnership, Ravi Pisharody, executive director, commercial vehicles, Tata Motors said: “Defence particularly needs partners with long-term commitments to see products and solutions through multiple generations of evolution, and we at Tata Motors are proud to have joined hands with the Bharat Forge and General Dynamics Land Systems for a complete FICV solution for the Indian armed forces. Through this partnership we will be better positioned to help the country realise its ‘Make in India’ vision, for the first completely indigenised combat vehicle, at the same time catering to the opportunities available right here in India.”

Leading in energy efficiency

The Tata Motors plant at Dharwad has been awarded first prize in the coveted National Energy Conservation Award for 2015 in the automobile sector. The plant achieved a 12 per cent reduction in energy consumption by adopting various initiatives to reduce high speed diesel (HSD) and power consumption. These included the installation of variable speed drives for blowers in the BIW shop and the use of portable compressors in the paint shop during colour changes. In addition, chiller units were relocated to optimise power consumption.

Speaking on the occasion, K Mohan Kumar, plant head at Tata Motors Dharwad plant, said: “We at Tata Motors are extremely delighted to have received this award from BEE. This award is a testament to the on-going efforts by each and every person at the Tata Motors Dharwad plant towards making our facility greener and more energy efficient.” n

For more information about Tata Motors’ latest innovative products and services visit: www.tata.com