2012 Tweet Shows Anand Mahindra's Long-standing Friendly Competition With Tata
Modified On Jul 15, 2022 02:46 PM By CarDekho
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An old tweet from the Mahindra CEO shows that he has always valued Tata’s innovative streak as one of India’s biggest homegrown carmakers
Anand Mahindra is well-known as Mahindra’s insightful and kind-hearted CEO who often communicates with his fans on social media. In his latest tweet, the auto boss has responded to a follower’s query by reiterating his appreciation for rival homegrown carmaker Tata Motors, saying that its growth inspires Mahindra to do better:
It’s a privilege to have strong competitors like @TataMotors They keep reinventing themselves and that inspires us to do even better… Competition spurs Innovation.. https://t.co/MwpBYsMOWZ
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 11, 2022
Apart from Maruti Suzuki, Tata and Mahindra are the only surviving Indian carmakers in the mainstream; it’s understandable that the two brands have a camaraderie. Back in 2012, Mahindra overtook Tata to become the third largest carmaker behind Maruti and Hyundai. Ratan Tata, who was still Tata Group’s chairman, responded with disappointment, saying:
“I have a great respect for what Mahindra & Mahindra has been able to do. I also have a certain degree of sadness and shame that we have let that happen".
In 2012, the Bolero SUV was Mahindra's sales leader
Anand Mahindra saw the depth in Tata’s statements which were made at a shareholder meeting, saying, “Mr Tata's comment is extraordinarily humble and generous” and that it inspired him and the company to work harder.
Mr.Tata's comment is extraordinarily humble& generous.M&M takes it as a pat on the back from a big brother&it inspires us to work harder..
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 11, 2012
The spirit of competition was strong in Ratan Tata’s statements, too:
"I think we have a great deal of introspection to do as to why M&M should be ahead of us and us catching up, on the horse-power we have lacked it. Tata Motors will have to understand customers better and will have to pay attention to the product offerings as well as customer support”
Of course, that’s exactly what the carmaker did. It now has a strong portfolio of cars, SUVs and electric vehicles that have placed the carmaker back as a top three carmaker, occasionally overtaking even Hyundai to grab the number two spot.
The new Safari is Tata's flagship SUV
Mahindra and Tata’s vehicle lineups are fairly different – Tata offers more affordable models such as the Tiago, Tigor and Punch in addition to the Nexon, Harrier and Safari SUVs. On the other hand, Mahindra is known for manufacturing utility vehicles, and its current lineup mostly consists of SUVs, including popular 4x4s such as the Thar and the all-new Scorpio N.
Although the carmaker had been a pioneer for electric vehicles (EVs) in India, it has lost out to Tata in that aspect – Tata Electric Mobility leads the country in EV sales with the Nexon EV and Tigor EV.
In the near future, we expect more electric vehicles from Mahindra, including the long-awaited XUV400 EV. The carmaker has already updated its ICE lineup with exciting and capable SUVs such as the Scorpio N and XUV700. Both Tata and Mahindra have also announced future plans for electrification – Tata has the Curvv, Avinya and Gen 3 ground-up EV platform in the works, and Mahindra is working to turn its ‘Born EV’ concept SUVs into reality.
Over the years, the two Indian carmakers have held their ground against fierce competition from foreign carmakers. They have progressed from building utilitarian people movers to competitive, comfortable, well-equipped and safe vehicles. Tata’s entire lineup has received four or five-star ratings from Global NCAP, and Mahindra’s XUV700 even won the “Safer Choice” award from the safety testing agency.
So, you tell us which carmaker you like more – Tata or Mahindra? Let us know in the comments.
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