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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, India, Tata

Rumors of Ratan Tata’s retirement from the international corporation he helms as CEO have been buzzing around the internet for over a year, but they’ve recently been lent a little credence. According to BBC News, Tata Group has assembled a five-person panel to find a suitable successor to the company’s throne. It had previously been suggested that the 79-year-old Tata would retire by the end of 2012. The panel hopes to locate a new CEO by March of next year, providing a bit of overlap between the incoming and outgoing regimes. In the past, Tata Group has kept the boss’s seat within the family, though there is some speculation that a few outsiders are favored for the post.

BBC News reports that other media outlets have pointed to Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half brother and head of the Tata Group’s international operations, as a strong candidate for the CEO position. Other possibilities include Arun Sarin, who once headed Vodofone, and Nusli Wadia, a textiles chairman. At this point, it remains unclear whether Ratan Tata will retain some influence over the corporation he helped save from financial doom post-retirement or if he’ll leave the decision making to his successor. Either way, the next few months should be interesting for the company.

[Source: BBC News | Image: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade]

BBC: Ratan Tata successor sought originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, India, Quick Spin

2011 Tata Nano CX – Click above for high-res image gallery

People love the idea of super-cheap transportation. Two generations ago, Volkswagen captured the world’s attention with the Beetle (known originally as “The People’s Car”), but when people finally drove the rear-engined VW, they realized it was more than just a cheap car – it was remarkably fun to drive.

India’s Tata Motors picked up on the people’s car idea several years ago. Motorbikes and pedal bikes are the go-to transportation options for millions in India, which presented an opportunity. But with the average price of a new car in the U.S. hovering around $30,000, an inconceivable sum in the developing world, Tata would have to do something very different. The tiny Nano was the result. It’s currently on sale in India starting at around $2,500. That sound you hear is over a billion people cheering because they can now envision themselves owning transportation with a roof that they don’t have to pedal.

The pint-sized sedan wowed crowds at its New Delhi introduction in 2008 and Tata began exporting the Nano throughout the developing world. Speculation swirled that the company would eventually target the U.S. after the car was put on display at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, but do we really want it here?

Gallery: 2011 Tata Nano CX: Quick Spin

Continue reading Quick Spin: 2011 Tata Nano CX – Driving the world’s cheapest car

Quick Spin: 2011 Tata Nano CX – Driving the world’s cheapest car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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