Tata Group Readying A Plan For Battery Company, Says Chandrasekaran

The group is making a transition towards sustainability across businesses which includes a clean mobility push at Tata Motors and its British luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover, Chandrasekaran said at an industry event.

To meet stringent climate goals, automakers globally are pursuing zero-emission strategies by also investing in batteries and their raw material supply chain.

Tata Motors, India’s biggest electric carmaker, has plans to launch 10 electric models by 2025, whereas Jaguar Land Rover’s luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and the carmaker will launch e-models of its entire lineup by 2030.

“Pressure on making the climate transition is only going to increase … deadlines will only get advanced going forward,” he said, adding that the Tata group will soon announce its goal towards becoming carbon neutral.

The battery “blueprint” is part of a broader plan to be “future ready” by investing in renewable energy, hydrogen, storage solutions and the circular economy, he said.

The ongoing decade has a huge promise for India with lot of opportunities but the country will need to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in order to achieve a holistic growth, while bringing more women into the workforce, Chandrasekaran said.

In the coming decades 70 per cent of the world’s growth will come from emerging markets and India’s growth is going to be higher than most countries and the country needs to make the opportunity count, he said while speaking at the CII Business Summit 2022.

“We are going to be the third largest economy. That’s going to happen but we have to achieve it in such a way that that growth is enjoyed by all. We can’t have the gap (between the rich and the poor) becoming wider. According to me that is one fundamental thing,” asserted Chandrasekaran, who is the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding and promoter firm of Tata group companies.

He further said, “The basic quality of life has to be enjoyed by all. We have to lift hundreds of millions of people in the coming decade out of poverty.”

Since Independence, he said India’s economy has grown from being 3% of world’s GDP to about 7% at present and many have escaped hardships because of this growth. In the last 10 years alone the country has lifted about 270 million people out of poverty.

“Our economy has changed beyond recognition in these 75 years. We entered new businesses and have flourished in many sectors. Today we have the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. In 2022, so far we have been producing one unicorn every week….but still we have a long way to go.

“Whether it is in terms of women employment, still the number of people below the poverty line, access to health care, access to education for all. There are many many such things we still need to address,” he said.

Stating that India’s economy will become large, he said, “We will go to a $5 trillion, $8 trillion (economy in future), per capita income will double. All this will happen but can we all also at the same time address the things that we need to address so that the whole thing remains holistic?”

Reiterating that “this decade has a huge promise for India”, Chandrasekaran said, “It’s a huge opportunity in whichever way you look at it and we need to make this count and at the same time address the problems that need to be addressed.”