We collectively owe Tata Motors a podium finish in market place: Butschek

Tata Motors' accelerated efforts on sales enhancement, rigorous cost reduction have shown quick results on market share and bottom-line improvement, Guenter Butschek, chief executive and managing director at the firm wrote in a new year note to Tata Motors’ employees on January 3. He however, added that the effort needs to continue and the turnaround plan should get fully accomplished giving strong returns by March 2018.  

“Turnaround is a sprint, while we‘re running a marathon for sustainable, profitable growth of our great company! We collectively owe Tata Motors a podium finish in the market place,” he wrote.

Addressing a press meet in August, Butschek had said Tata Motors will invest Rs1,500 crore in its commercial vehicle business (CV) in a bid to regain lost ground and return to profitability this fiscal year. The company, he had said was focusing on cost cutting which will save it at least Rs1,500 crore this fiscal.

Under Butschek who took charge at the Tata group flagship in February 2016, Tata Motors initiated an organisational effectiveness programme which was aimed at making the firm more agile to the changing business environment. The exercise has paid off. Tata Motors’ volumes and market share in both the passenger and commercial vehicles have been rising steadily since the last four months.

“We have made considerable progress so far - Q2 and Q3 performance show good evidence on our commitment,” said Butschek in his note. Among other things, he attributed it to improvements in operations due to which the company was able to ramp up production by 70% in the second quarter.