Tata Motors vice chairman Ravi Kant has stepped down just days after the struggling automotive group posted a stand-alone loss after tax of INR8.2bn (US$138m) for the three months ended 31 March, compared with a loss of INR3.1bn (US$52m) in the same period a year earlier.
Tata said the move was in line with the company’s retirement policy with Kant reaching the age of 70 although such policies are not usually so rigid in India. For example Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata group, retired aged 75.
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The departure of Kant leaves Tata Motors almost headless following the sudden death of former chief executive Karl Slym earlier this year. The automotive business has been run by group chairman, Cyrus Mistry, although insiders say he has taken something of a back seat.
The group has been struggling as Indian buyers opt for foreign makes while the domestic market has slowed along with the Indian economy – and interest rates have risen.
Tata saw its automotive business slump into the red in the financial year to the end of March although it was propped up by its British luxury vehicle unit Jaguar Land Rover which set new records with a 50% pre-tax profit rise to GBP2.5bn (US$4.2bn), spinning off a GBP150m (US$251m) dividend to its parent.
Tata posted a US$174m loss on revenues of US$5.6bn, blaming the state of the Indian economy. The Indian car market shrank 4.7% in the 2013/2014 financial year as only 1.8m units were sold. Tata is hoping for a boost in the domestic market following the launch of the Bolt hatchback and Zest compact sedan over the next few months.
