The story of Ratan Tata, who started out as an assistant in the conglomerate his grandfather founded, could be straight out of a movie script.
For Indians, it is nothing short of a badge of honor that an Indian firm owns British marque Jaguar-Land Rover.
The acquisition was part of an even grander dream – the same year Tata would take the ailing British carmakers Jaguar and Land Rover off the very willing hands of Ford Motors, he launched on an ambitious plan to make an affordable car for Indian families that could only dream of owning one.
Tata, who died at the age of 86 in Mumbai on Wednesday, was more recently chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, having retired from its everyday running more than a decade ago. He was buried with full state honors the following day.
Here are some snippets from his life:
Dealings with Ford
When Tata approached Ford in 1999 to try and sell Tata Motors, after the flop of Tata Indica, India’s first homegrown car, he was apparently told that he had no business starting a car company when he didn’t have a clue about making cars.
He might have been humiliated that day, but Tata would be back nine years later to buy Jaguar as well as Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite carmaker.
A nano-sized mega dream
Tata Motors launched the Tata Nano in 2008 and priced it at 1 lakh rupees, or about $2,500 at that time. It was at least half as cheap as the next car on India’s roads at the time. And while it represented a marvel because of its low cost and sale price, it wasn’t a success.
Production on the Tata Nano was halted in 2018.
These days, the carmaker does dominate a nascent electric vehicle space at home, though, and has the largest market share.
Man of steel
Tata Steel might have built modern India, but under Ratan Tata its ambitions really grew. In 2007, the company acquired Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus for $12 billion and later rebranded it as Tata Steel Europe.
The acquisition would prove to be a drag on Tata Steel’s business though, and the British and Dutch branches were eventually split in 2021.
Making iPhones
Tata’s international ambitions once again took centerstage, when Apple looked to diversify its manufacturing out of China. The group now manufactures iPhones (including the iPhone 16 Pro Max starting this year) in India.
Lover of strays
Ratan Tata was, it would seem, first and foremost an animal lover.
It is said that in 2018, he skipped an award ceremony as well as a meeting with the then Prince Charles because one of his dogs had fallen ill. His social media is also a testament to his efforts towards rescuing stray and abandoned dogs.
At the Tata-owned Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, employees have been instructed to treat stray dogs with care and ensure they are not disturbed. The canines have their own room at Bombay House, the Tata Group’s 100-year-old headquarters in South Mumbai.
