Bearing the stamp of luxury

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: ownership changes hands. This they are doing by keeping the original management of the UK-based company intact. As company officials indicate: “It is a change of ownership. That’s all. Everything else remains the same.”

Keeping the luxury brands separate from the others under a different company altogether will ensure that there is no cultural conflict, say analysts. As Anand Halve, co-founder of Mumbai-based advertising and brand consultancy Chlorophyll explains: “You cannot have a brand manager driven by a mentality to drive down costs to take charge of brands that are about making a style statement. The Tatas will want to avoid a situation like that.” In fact, most automobile conglomerates across the world make sure that the management of their luxury brands is not mixed with the management of their entry-level, mid-level or premium-end vehicles. This way clarity of thinking, strategy and communication is maintained. As Mahesh Chauhan, president, Rediffusion DY&R explains, “When Toyota launched the Lexus, it did so under a different subsidiary altogether.

I don’t think the Tatas are reinventing the wheel here. It is required to maintain the sanctity of the brands.”

On a roll...

1945: Established

1954: Entered into a partnership with Daimler Benz AG for manufacture of medium commercial vehicles. Partnership ended in 1969

1961: Began exporting trucks to Sri Lanka

1983: Manufacture of heavy commercial vehicles begins

1986: Begins manufacture of light commercial vehicles. Indigenously designed Tata 407, followed by Tata 608 rolls out of company plant

1994: Multi utility vehicle Tata Sumo launched

1998: Sports utility vehicle Tata Safari launched. Also the year when the company launched Indica

2001: Indica V2 launched

2002: Tata Indigo launched

2004: Acquisition of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company. Indigo Marina launched

2005: Goods carrier Tata Ace launched in the sub-one-tonne payload market. Also launches Safari Dicor

2006: Indica V2 Xeta launched. Total vehicle sales of the company crosses 4 million

2007: Indigo XL launched

2008: Unveils the Tata Nano. The company acquires Jaguar and Land Rover.