Tata Engineering is quietly getting into stride with its Indica setting the pace on the sales front consistently at the head of the pack and steely determination pervading the rank and file of the company to make it happen. Overdrive’s Adil Jal Darukhanawala posed a set of questions to Ratan N Tata, the architect of the Indica project and Chairman, Tata Engineering, on the new Tata Sedan and future projects.

After a slow start, the Indica has stabilised as a product to reckon with in its category, despite high calibre competition. What are Tata Engineering’s lessons from this baptism by fire?
The initial performance feedback on the Indica reflected concerns relating mainly to early failures in certain components sourced from vendors, and in part to requirements for design-related performance improvements. These initial concerns manifested themselves to the customer as quality problems. Two important lessons learnt by the company have been:

• To establish a much more comprehensive component life-testing process for vendor parts;
• To put in place a robust process for root cause analysis of defects.

The new Indica V2 reflects the benefits of a far more comprehensive component failure testing process, and the redesign of 3 or 4 elements in the car. The result has been greatly enhanced product performance and uniform quality.

Another lesson learnt by Tata Engineering has been the crucial role played by the dealer in interfacing with the customer. Customer dissatisfaction often occurred with great intensity in certain dealerships where the dealers’ service representatives dealt with the Indica customer in an unsatisfactory manner, causing the customer great inconvenience through repeated visits for service. A process is on to better educate the dealers on the essentiality of creating customer loyalty.

What are the processes and systems that need to be added to enhance quality and time efficiency?
Vendor quality up-gradation programme. A worldclass proving ground and testing facilities in India.

The versatility of the Indica platform is built into its concept definition: interior room of an Ambassador, engine size matching an esteem, and Maruti 800 pricing. Will the sedan and estate versions on the same platform mirror similar virtues?
While they will carry some core propositions of the Indica platform, the positioning of these variants will be quite different.

The sedan has good details and features for a car in its class. Knowing your keen involvement with the Indica and as an automobile enthusiast, what were your inputs while developing the sedan?
Styling and packaging, and handling performance inputs.

Telco’s small automobile engines offer adequate power and torque. However, refinement is an area where some catching up is necessary. Are there any plans to work with outsiders for joint development or will Telco continue to develop them in-house?
Perhaps both. We will, as appropriate:

1. Develop and sustain an in-house family of powertrains;
2. Explore or capitalise on opportunities to integrate bought out powertrains, to address specific segments/markets, or
3. Undertake joint development.

How much do you reckon an Indian car maker can push the technology envelope for cars made solely for Indian consumption?
An Indian company like Telco has the capability to develop cars for both the home and overseas markets. In fact, Indica and Safari both are being exported to Europe (euro III, 4 valves per cylinder – 4PL engine, MPFI).

Car majors worldwide benefit when they have a ‘car guy’ driving the business. Apart from your own passion for automobiles, does Tata Engineering have ‘car guys’ driving critical operations?
Dr V. Sumantran is in that category. In marketing also, there are several young people who love cars.

The MUV/SUV business has been Telco’s anchor and success story. But much needs to be done on delivering consistent quality and refinement to keep pace with competition and maturing customer expectations. What are Tata Engineering’s plans for MUV/SUV developments for the next 3-5 years?
A facelift and upgrade of existing products. And a new platform for a new family in 3-5 years.

And finally, the exciting concepts Aria and Zing. Do you see any production future for them or will they remain demonstrators of what Tata Engineering is capable of developing?
Aria and Zing remain within the production realm; they are not merely concepts which do not have an execution possibility. However, the requirements for meeting the targeted criteria are quite tough.