Mumbai, Aug. 10: Tata Motors needs to deliver superior products and enhance customer satisfaction to stay ahead of its rivals, Ratan Tata said in his last annual general meeting as the chairman of the company.
Flanked by Tata Motors vice-chairman Ravi Kant and chairman-designate of the group Cyrus P. Mistry, Ratan Tata said he wanted to see Tata Motors doing better than its competitors.
Tata, who is set to retire by the end of this year, prescribed certain growth boosters. "To sustain market position, Tata Motors will have to understand customer needs better and will have to pay attention to product offering as well as to dealer and customer support. The company will necessarily have to single-mindedly retain and protect its market in all its segments,'' he said.
"I hope that the company and all its people will rise to the occasion in spirit to meet the needs of the changing market.''
According to Tata, the commercial vehicle landscape is changing with the entry of new players such as Mercedes Benz, Volvo and Navistar in the market dominated by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.
There has also been a huge increase in the number of passenger cars sold or assembled in the country by almost all international manufacturers.
Responding to a shareholder query on Mahindra and Mahindra (MandM), he said it was "sad" that Tata Motors had lost out to its rival. MandM is the country's largest utility vehicle maker.
In the passenger vehicle segment, MandM had overtaken Tata Motors to claim the No. 3 spot during the first quarter of this fiscal. However, Tata Motors was successful in regaining the slot in July.
Singur view
Two days after the Bengal government moved the Supreme Court on the Singur issue, Ratan Tata today said his company would not work against anybody's interests as long as it was within laws.
On August 7, the Bengal government had moved the apex court against Calcutta High Court's order, which struck down the Singur Land Act that allowed the state government to reclaim 400 acres of land given to Tata Motors.
Tata Motors had acquired the Singur land from the previous Left Front government for its Nano project. It ran into troubles because of local agitation against land acquisition.