Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata dies aged 86

Indian businessman Ratan Tata, former chairman of Jaguar Land Rover owner the Tata Group, has died at the age of 86. 

The company confirmed his death in an official statement this evening (9 October), which read: “It is with deep sadness and with a heavy heart that we inform you of the demise of our beloved chairman, Ratan N Tata, a legend of our times who passed away on 9 October 2024.

“While we will miss his physical presence, he will always live in our hearts and minds. We rededicate ourselves to carrying forward his legacy and that of the founders, which is rooted in India’s civilisational values and strives for the welfare of all.”

Described as a “titan” of industry and recognised by Tata as a “truly uncommon leader”, Ratan Tata led the huge multinational company from 1990 to 2012, a transformative period of globalisation during which time it took ownership of Jaguar Land Rover for £1.15bn. 

In a 2008 interview with Autocar, shortly before Tata’s purchase of JLR was made official, Ratan Tata spoke of his passion for the brands, which are still owned today by his company. 

“What attracted us was the fact that these are two iconic brands, global in nature and highly respected for their products,” he said. 

“We believe it is the duty of whoever owns them to nurture the image, to retain their touch and feel, and not to tinker with them. They are British brands, and they should remain British. Who actually owns them should not be very important in the way they work.”

Tata was vocally committed to keeping the Jaguar and Land Rover marques distinct, and to supporting their respective product strategies and expansion plans. JLR, still under Tata ownership 16 years later, has exited a sustained period of financial uncertainty to achieve its highest profit in years, and is about to embark on a radical overhaul of all its product lines and brand positioning.

The company’s current CEO, Adrian Mardell, paid tribute to Ratan Tata in an official statement: “The entire JLR family is profoundly saddened by the death of Mr Ratan Tata. His personal achievements and legacy are unequalled in society, and the mark he leaves on our business and brands is greater than that of any other individual.

“It was thanks to his singular vision that Tata acquired JLR in 2008, and we owe everything we have become since then to his unwavering support and dedication. Mr Tata led us on an extraordinary journey. He inspired incredible new chapters in our history. Under his generous and trusting guidance, we have felt deeply proud to be part of the Tata story.

“On behalf of everyone at JLR, I would like to offer our sincerest thanks for his remarkable leadership.”

Tata is also known as the mastermind behind the Tata Nano, an affordable microcar that is widely credited with popularising the private car in India at a launch price of less than £2000 in its home market in 2008. The larger Tata Indica, which was launched in 1998, remained in production for two decades and became one of India’s best-selling cars.

Outside of his business exploits, Ratan Tata was an avid car enthusiast, known for visiting JLR’s UK headquarters every few weeks and spending a good portion of his visit on the firm’s Gaydon test track with then chief tester Mike Cross.

“I try to spend a couple of hours on the track with Mike,” Tata told Autocar in 2012, “but we often run out of time because we’ve started driving competitors’ cars as well as our own.”

He was also an advocate of freer and more flexible working practices at JLR, and hailed the efforts of designers Ian Callum and Gerry McGovern in particular as instrumental in driving that change – an ethos that continues to underpin the firm’s dramatic transformation throughout this decade. 

“The younger generation in JLR is very supportive of change, and I believe overall the culture is changing. But I still wish it could be more open and flexible. Right now we want to get more products into the marketplace as fast as possible, so flexibility really matters,” said Tata.

Crucial models launched or developed by JLR during his tenure as Tata chairman include the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport and every Jaguar sold in the past decade, including the F-Type, F-Pace and I-Pace EV.