WHEELS IN MOTION

Tata Motors is recovering its mojo, one category at a time. Passenger vehicles are on track, powered by new design sensibilities. Now the auto major is looking to bring the shine back to its crown jewel, JLR.

- PRERNA LIDHOO

RANK

6 (5)

2020 COMPANY PROFILE

TATA MOTORS

REVENUE

₹2,61,875.55 CRORE

PROFIT

- ₹12,070.85 CRORE

NET WORTH

₹63,078.53 CRORE

EMPLOYEE COST

₹30,438.60 CRORE

KEY

NO CHANGE

MOVED UP

MOVED DOWN

NEW

NOTE: THE NUMBER IN BRACKETS DENOTES LAST YEAR’S RANK

IN INDIA, the early 1990s were defined by a handful of functional cars with boxy designs that often lacked personality. It was a time when the concept of SUVs hadn’t yet reached the country’s roads.

That was to change by the end of the decade. In 1998, Tata Motors— No. 6 on the Fortune India 500 list this year—introduced the Safari at an aggressive price of ₹8.25 lakh. It was, as Tata Motors CEO and MD Guenter Butschek calls it, “India’s first true SUV”. Not only was it the first time that people got a taste of a four-wheel drive by an Indian automaker, Tata Motors managed to prove its manufacturing prowess beyond trucks and heavy vehicles.