'Underdog' to 'Top Dog', N Chandrasekaran hails Tata Motors' turnaround

From being an "underdog" five years ago to becoming one of the "top dogs" in the industry has been a phenomenal turnaround for the local passenger vehicle business at Tata motors, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman and the head of Tata Sons, told the automotive company’s staff at the traditional annual interaction on Friday.

It is an annual ritual for the chairman to address the employees and kick off the financial year at Tata Motors with a review of the year gone by - and what lies ahead - from the green lawns of the plush Lake House in Pune.

This time, both N Chandrasekaran, current chairman, and Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, were not physically present at the venue.

Delivering a televised address, Chandrasekaran applauded the passenger vehicle leadership team for reviving a dying business and giving it the energy to become a leader.

Despite constraints of the chip crisis, Tata Motors posted record annual sales of 3.7 lakh units in FY22, posting a whopping growth of 67%.

Commending the strong performance, Chandrasekaran said that "procurement of semiconductor chips throughout this crisis could be a separate case study."

Singling out Shailesh Chandra and his passenger vehicle team for praise, Chandrasekaran said the team excelled because of the "attitude to win."

The Chief of Human Resources read out Mr Tata's note, which stated: "I couldn't be there (in person)...but the business has delivered a great turnaround ...I hope Tata Motors becomes a great technology company; straddling many segments."

Chandrasekaran recalled a stormy, intense meeting on July 9, 2017, after which a series of turnarounds were achieved over five years.

"Be it in engineering, financial health management, working with unions, market share focus and creating a product pipeline," he said, recalling the turnaround journey for the division that was on the verge of being closed down. "We were not even the underdogs," he reminded the employees.

But now, he observed that "both internal and external perceptions had changed and that when you look at a company you can know it, feel it whether it has the energy and attitude to succeed."

He, however, asserted that while the company is clear about the future, there is "a long way to go, and the game has just begun."

Tata Motors didn't comment in response to ET's mailed queries on the Chairman's interaction.

He emphasized that the company should focus on tech, innovation, analytics, and marketing, as they are all the key drivers of excellence and value creation for its future.

The chairman claimed there had been a big payoff on the risky bet to back EVs in 2018.

He also assured employees that in the future new leaders will emerge from within Tata Motors.

Chandrasekaran stated that attention to detail, innovation in EV and hydrogen, marketing to subsegments and development of data-based downstream pools of business in the bus business are immediate big priorities.

In separate addresses, Girish Wagh, ED and head of commercial vehicle business unit, and Sailesh Chandra, M.D Tata PV & EV business, summarised their respective performances.

The top management believed that "the CV business would surge thanks to tailwinds, operational excellence, cost containment and monetization by data-rich companies such as Fleet Edge.”