The heroes of Indian motoring scene: Men who make India proud

The shop wasn’t doing any good. Given the neighborhood, business should have been brisk, but the two HM Ambassadors and the lone Sipani Dolphin just stood there, gathering dust. The signal turned green and we drove off in our ratty Premier, spewing white smoke that reeked of doctored gasoline. Little did we know that a couple of decades down the line, the pale, pre-owned car dealership would give way to a brand new Jaguar Land Rover outfit, with shiny new F-Types and Range Rovers gracing the floors. Or, a couple of blocks down the road, a massive Hero Motocorp hoarding would be advertising themselves as the world’s largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world. You might just call it evolution, but the economy was in tatters back then, leading us to believe that the future of Indian motoring will never go beyond smoky Padminis and Ambassadors.

But, like always, there were people who believed otherwise, and rode the winds of change. A powerful entrepreneurial vision, coupled with a whiff of national pride led these personalities to put India on the global motoring map. Today, apart from having significant presence in international motorsport, India is the seventh-largest automotive producer in the world, as well as the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer – and it’s the collective handiwork of the following people, whose contributions have helped shape the industry’s dynamics and general car culture.

Ratan Tata

This guy’s the boss – he created India’s first genuinely homegrown car, and bought the icons of British motoring industry to do us all proud.

Ratan Tata’s contribution to the Indian automotive space has become the stuff of legends. Presently the chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata was the chairman of the Tata group since 1991. Under his headship, the Tata Indica was conceived in 1998, and it earned the coveted title of being India’s first indigenously produced automobile.   In 2008, he oversaw the phenomenon called the Tata Nano, the country’s cheapest passenger vehicle, and one at which the world gazed with positive inquisitiveness. The very same year, Tata Motors acquired the prestigious Jaguar and Land Rover marques from Ford, and formed a new company, Jaguar Land Rover, marking the coming of age of the Indian automotive industry.

Anand Mahindra

This man gave us the Scorpio – a vehicle that is vehemently synonymous with the Indian car culture.

Anand Mahindra is the genial chairman and managing director of Mahindra Group. What started with simple vehicles capable of tackling the Indian terrain is now a USD 16.5 billion multinational conglomerate.  Back in the late-90s, a visionary Anand committed significant financial resources to develop a new small SUV, specifically designed for the Indian market. The adventurous move paid off with the launch of the all-new, manufactured-from-scratch Scorpio SUV in 2002, which went on to become a runaway success, apart from developing a cult following in the country. Furthermore, he administered the acquisition of Bangalore based Reva Electric Car Company in 2010, leading to the formation of Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Private Limited – one of the pioneers in all-electric vehicles in the country.

Under his leadership, a 70% share of Korean car maker SsangYong was acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra in February 2011, indicating that India is indeed spreading her automotive wings globally. A venture into the two-wheeler space also came with the acquisition of Pune-based Kinetic Motor Company Ltd. (KMCL), and Mahindra Two Wheelers was born in 2008. Anand also played a pivotal in launching Mahindra Racing, which became the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championship series in 2011 and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV) in 2012. Mahindra Racing is also the eighth and only Indian team to race in the all-electric Formula E series.

Pawan Munjal

Simply put – Pawan is at the helm of the largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world

Pawan Munjal currently serves as the Vice chairman of Hero motocorp, and is company founder Brijmohan Lall Munjal’s third son. In December 2010, when Hero announced it was to part ways with Japanese two-wheeler major Honda, the market was rife with speculations of a dire future for the Indian company without its erstwhile partner. Today, under Munjal’s lead, Hero Motocorp is the largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world, albeit having secured that place with Honda’s engineering assistance in the past. Currently, Hero sells its products in 19 countries across Asia, South and Central America and Africa, with the company set to commission manufacturing units in Colombia and Bangladesh in 2015-16. Munjal says he plans to have in place 20 manufacturing/assembly units to expand its presence in 50 countries in a decade.

Rajiv Bajaj

He put a desire inside of the average Indian youngster – a desire called the Pulsar

Rajiv Bajaj is the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto since 2005, and the son of Rahul Bajaj, chairman of the Bajaj Group. Without this man’s vision, the country wouldn’t have witnessed the Pulsar range of motorcycles, which, introduced in November 2001, can be single-handedly credited for redefining affordable Indian performance motorcycling. The Pulsar range also revived the fortunes of the ailing company benefiting the Indian auto industry. What’s more, Bajaj Auto, under Rajiv’s headship, picked up a 48% stake in Austrian two-wheeler major KTM in 2008 and turned the company’s fortunes around with the introduction of the formidable, locally assembled Duke series of performance motorcycles in the country. To this day, the Duke and RC series of motorcycles from Bajaj owned KTM are the undisputed kings of affordable performance motorcycling in the country.

Venu Srinivasan

If you consider your Apache fast or your Star City the best commuter ever, thank this man

Venu Srinivasan is the Chairman of Sundaram-Clayton Group which includes TVS Motor, which was conceived after TVS parted ways with Suzuki in 2001 after a 19-year old relationship. With Venu at the helm, TVS Motor Company is the fourth largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India and one among the top ten in the world today. With popular, high-selling motorcycles like the Victor and the Apache under its belt, the latter being a powerful rebuttal to the Pulsar, the company currently operates out of four manufacturing plants – three located in India (Hosur, Tamil Nadu and Mysore, Karnataka and Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh) and one in Indonesia (Karawang). What’s more, a Venu led TVS recently partnered up with BMW Motorrad to develop a sub-500cc motorcycle for Indian and international markets.

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