Tata Motors UK centre broadened co's global tech base
The Economic Times — March 8, 2008

The credit for Nano's design and engineering DNA should go not just to such young engineers as Girish Wagh and Jai Bolar. A lot of the engineering genes in the Rs 1-lakh car has come from Tata Motors' European Technical Centre CEO Clive Hickman and his team. Set up in 2005, the UK centre has been trying to integrate the company's tech footprint in India and overseas. The idea, says Mr Hickman, is to move up the engineering value chain without losing cost-competitiveness.

Speaking to ET, Mr Hickman said: "Tata Motors has six tech centres around the world and our effort is to integrate all of them. The division has over 3,000 permanent employees and we intend to grow the engineering business dramatically by doubling in size".

As part of its effort to recruit top engineering talent and retain cost efficiency, the UK tech team is also working closely with Tata Motors' passenger car division as its supply base.

Ever since the integrated UK tech centre was set up in September 2005 - mid-way through the Nano project - which kicked off sometime in 2004, the UK centre has been working on the Rs 1-lakh car project. The team will also be involved when the car is ready for its Europe debut.

We designed the structure of the Nano to support all the legislative requirements that it will need if and when it comes to Europe," Mr Hickman said. "The changes from the current model will be on the emission front; so the powertrain may be different. Also, it will have stuff bolted on airbags. But it won't be a different car. It will simply have what is necessary to meet the requirements of the European market," he added.

The UK centre is currently working on integrating Tata Motors' other tech centres, including the ones in Korea, Pune and Jamshedpur. "We are recruiting top engineering talent in Europe to scale up engineering expertise without losing our cost edge," Mr Hickman said. And in the process, if M&A opportunities crop up, Tata Motors won't miss them, he added.

Tata Motor's Nano created a flutter at the Geneva Motor Show. Nissan Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn and General Motors chief executive Rick Wagoner dropped in for a dekko and were thanked by Mr Hickman for their interest. Mr Ghosn replied: "No no. I should thank you. This is really fantastic. This is what we should try and achieve." Mr Wagoner added: "This is a benchmark kind of a model. You Indians always make us think."