Tata Motors to merge Passenger Vehicle (PV) unit into separate subsidy; Shailesh Chandra to head the subsidiary replaces Mayank Pareek

Tata Motors will merge its passenger vehicles business, that includes electric vehicles, into a separate subsidiary. The company has not yet revealed any details of the arrangement yet. As per Tata Motors this move would provide differentiated focus for its passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles businesses, and help them realize their potential, the company said in a statement that was released to us today.

Shailesh Chandra, who is currently the president of EV and corporate strategy, has been appointed president of the PV business, including EV business, with effect from April 1, 2020. He will replace Mayank Pareek, who will be superannuating from Tata Motors at the end of February 2021. The release said “Along with this move, we are also pleased to announce the appointment of Shailesh Chandra, President EV and Corporate Strategy as President PV business including EV with effect from April 1, 2020. He will be assuming responsibility for the PV business from Mayank Pareek. Shailesh’s appointment at the start of the new financial year gives him the opportunity to shape the organization as we ready it to operate as a subsidiary once the necessary approvals are in place. Shailesh and Mayank will work on transition over the next few weeks and Mayank will be superannuating from Tata Motors at the end of February 2021. We would like to thank Mayank for his contributions in getting TML PV business back on track to “Win Sustainably” and wish him well for the future.”

The Statement said “The Passenger Vehicle business landscape is seeing rapid transformation in the form of tightening emission norms, push towards electrification, enhanced disruptions from autonomous and connected technologies. Additionally, India continues to remain an attractive market for global OEMs while the aspiration levels of the Indian consumer continue to rise requiring stepped up investments in contemporary products in a competitive market. Over the last few years, TML’s PV business has implemented a strong turnaround and has earned its right to grow by launching a slew of successful products like the Tiago, Tigor, Nexon, Hexa, Harrier and most recently the Altroz and Nexon EV. A fully refreshed BSVI ready product portfolio based on the Impact 2.0 design philosophy, consistently improving NPS scores, improved retail market shares and an exciting entry into the EV space coupled with improved profitability makes the business ready to realise its potential.

However, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 virus increases the challenges faced by the business. In this situation our first priority is to secure the health and safety of our people while continuing to serve our customers and securing the viability of our ecosystem. Additionally, in sync with our strategy to “Win Sustainably” we will take decisive steps to strengthen our business over the long-term. A move towards subsidiarization of the PV business is the first step in securing mutually beneficial strategic alliances that provide access to products, architectures, powertrains, new age technologies and capital.”