Manufacturers Tata

Tata Sons has named Cyrus Mistry as its next CEO, as current CEO Ratan Tata prepares to retire. The unmarried, childless Tata named Mistry as CEO of the holding company responsible for Tata’s numerous divisions, among them their automotive sector which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, along with the namesake Tata Motors brand.

The world’s cheapest vehicle has just gotten a whole lot (little bit?) better, with Tata announcing a batch of upgrades for their economical Nano. The 624-cc engine now makes a ferocious 37.5-hp, giving it a max speed of 65-mph.

Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, is suffering from slumping sales as the first-quarter profits are released. Tata’s Indian passenger car sales fell and Jaguar deliveries have also decreased. Surprisingly, however, Tata’s net income rose to twenty billion rupees in the three months ending on June 30th. This is up from 19.9 billion rupees a year earlier, but misses expectations.

General Motors has officially announced pricing for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The sedan has been priced to start at $14,495 and the five-door model will start at $15,395.

India sure knows how to do small (and cute) right. So you wouldn’t normally describe a truck as “cute,” but in the case of Tata’s Magic Iris and Ace Zip, we think you’ll agree that it’s okay this one time.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it will be spending some £400 million (approximately $640 million) on developing a new engine plant in India.

Parent company Tata is serious about their British crowns. Over the next 5 years, they will inject 8.2 billion dollars into making sure that Jaguar and Land Rover are not only afloat, but good enough to beat the Germans.

That certainly helped push sales, with Tata selling 9000 units in July 2010. However, after a few vehicles caught fire and concerns over its safety became public, sales took a plunge and resulted in just 509 units sold in November.

Remember the Tata Pixel concept at Geneva? If not, this link should help refresh your memory…or, you can wait until your next European vacation, where you’ll be seeing the tiny little Pixel on the streets.

If the maker of the world’s cheapest car does move ahead with plans to sell it here in the U.S., the sticker price won’t be the $2,000 figure that the car retails for in its home market of India.

Tata has been trying to dip its toe into the wild, wacky world of the European automobile market ever since they released their $2,500 Nano supermini. They made an attempt at appeasing discerning European customers with the Nano Europa, an “upscale” Nano with alloy wheels, power steering, and an extra cylinder (bringing the total to three).

Five consecutive quarters of being “in the black” has paid off for  Jaguar Land Rover. The luxury automaker is set to make over a billion pounds in profit ($1.6 billion) after strong sales around the world, especially in Asia.

The brain child of Ratan Tata, head of India’s massive conglomerate, the Nano, billed as the ‘world’s most affordable car,’ has never been far from controversy.

There is such a thing of having too much of a good thing. Like gold… especially when it is on a Tata Nano. The most basic car on the road just got pimped to celebrate the 5,000th anniversary of Indian jewelry.

Despite being hailed as the vehicle that would motorize a billion-strong economic powerhouse, the Tata Nano has turned out to be a spectacular flop, with November sales totalling just 509 units, from a peak of 9,000 units in July. For comparison, Mercedes-Benz cars, far beyond the reach of a majority of India’s population, regularly sells over 500 cars a month.

Tata’s Nano city car is being investigated for a series of fires in India related to the car. A Tate spokesman said that the company was “conducting a probe” into the matter.

Nearly 13 years ago today, Britain handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to the Chinese government, ending a 99-year lease on the territory, and signaling the end of a British presence in China.

With Tata just having announced a return to profitability based on increased demand of its Jaguar Land Rover models, the company is now laying out an ambitious plan for the future. Included in that plan is the production of the Jaguar F-Type – a more driver focused model that will likely compete more readily with the Porsche 911.

Tata unveiled a new electric version of its Nano at the Geneva Auto Show. The Nano EV joins the Indica Vista EV in Tata’s electric line-up.

The first details on Indian automaker Tata’s Nana Europa model have been announced, giving us a closer idea of what the car might be like when it arrives in the U.S. in 2012. Famous for being the world’s cheapest car, the Nano sells for $2,000 in India, but the European model will cost far more than that at around $6,500 to $8,000 (£4000 – £5000) due to safety upgrades, creature comforts and a more powerful engine.

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motorsw says it will close either a Jaguar or Land Rover factory in England by 2014. The decision as to which of the company’s three U.K. plants will be shuddered has not yet been made, but Tata has said which two are on the chopping block.

The acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) by Tata Motors Ltd. from Ford continues to hurt the Indian automaker as the two British brands recorded a combined net loss of $1.11 billion in 2008.

Tata Motors has posted its first annual loss in eight years due to a significant drop in demand for vehicles from its newly acquired Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit. The Indian automaker, also known for manufacturing the world’s cheapest car (the Nano), posted a net loss of $520 million for its 2009 fiscal year, with a $504 million loss at JLR.

Indian automaker Tata has confirmed that it will bring the Nano to the U.S. in the next three years. The Nano, launched officially several months ago in India, holds the title of being the world’s cheapest car with base models priced at just $2,000.

Well, here’s an exciting follow-up to yesterday’s story about the launch of the new Tata Nano in India; Tata is looking to bring the $2,000 Nano to the U.S.

Yesterday in Mumbai, India Tata Motors officially launched its revolutionary Nano micro-car. Powered by a 624cc 2-cylinder engine that makes just 35hp, the Nano will be offered in three trims levels with a starting price of just $2,000.

Tata Motors Chairman Ratan N. Tata announced that the company has created a model that will be exported to European markets – including Europe. The Indian car company unveiled this new model, the Tata Nano Europa at the Geneva Auto Show yesterday.

In this volatile economic environment, no auto manufacturer is safe from hard times, including Jaguar and Land Rover. According to an Automotive News/Reuters report, the two historic British car companies are facing a “cash crisis.” Parent company Tata Motors, the Indian auto manufacturer that recently purchased the luxury brands from Ford for $2.3 Billion, recently secured funding from the banks for “tens of millions” of dollars in aid. The news comes after Tata poured “hundreds of millions” of dollars into the struggling companies earlier this year.

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