Tata Motors Accelerates with Big EV Bet

WHEN N. CHANDRASEKARAN took charge as chairman of Tata Sons in 2017, the passenger vehicles (PV) business of Tata Motors was staring into the abyss. Losses had ballooned to nearly ₹4,000 crore annually, market share had slipped below 5% and bankers whispered a single piece of advice: shut it down.

Chandrasekaran, however, saw a different future. His argument was simple: while market leader Maruti Suzuki commanded over 50% of the Indian car market, the second player, Hyundai, held less than 20%. The gap between 5% and 20%, he reasoned, was not insurmountable — especially for a company that had once dominated Indian roads with models like Indica, Sumo, Estate, and Safari. He was equally convinced that the industry’s long-term destination was electric, as sustainability became a global rallying cry and pollution weighed heavily on Indian cities.