Tata Motors To Buy Stake in Ferrari?
March 11, 2008
By Nick Kurczewski 
Like a hapless A-list celebrity being hounded by the paparazzi, Tata Motors can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to avoiding being the subject of wild speculation and outlandish headlines.
The latest round of Tata’s awkward celebrity status came via a story published by Italian magazine L’Espresso, which recently reported Tata Motors now has its sights set on purchasing a stake in Ferrari.
According to L’Espresso, this bombshell came during an interview conducted between the magazine and Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, during last week’s round of press conferences at the Geneva International Motor Show. In a conversation involving everything from fighter jets to automobiles, the soft-spoken Tata apparently said it was his “desire to participate in the shareholding of Ferrari.”
Tata Motors has since said the comments were misquoted; that the Indian auto manufacturer has no interest in purchasing a part of the legendary Italian supercar company. Business Standard India reports that during the Geneva show, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari and Fiat chairman, invited Ratan Tata to visit Italy and “see what the country offers in terms of business prospects.”
The focus of the Geneva show for Tata was supposed to be the introduction of the company’s $2,500 Nano city car to European journalists and show-goers. The bargain-basement four-door hatchback goes on sale in India in October, but is not yet officially slated to go on sale in Europe.
However, only a few weeks ago a company representative let slip that a revised Nano — one with more safety features, refinement and horsepower — would go on sale in Europe within 3 to 4 years' time. (For all you conspiracy theorists out there: Tata Motors representatives told AutoObserver this, too, was misquoted by a journalist.)
And let’s not forget the protracted negotiations between Tata and Ford Motor Company over the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover. Many suspected Tata (or Ford) would use the Geneva show to confirm the sale had been finalized. So far, nothing has officially been confirmed.
Graphic by Thomas Migaki - Tata-branded Ferrari
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:17 AM under Business , Companies , In the Media , Rumors | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Let me add another misquote: the European Tata Nano will be a mid-engined V12-
built near, but not in, Modena.
Posted by: fulcrumb | March 11, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Now that would be quite a scoop!!
Though I doubt that Tata Motors would be able to keep its price under $250,000, much less $2500.
But remember, Tata has very strong ties to Fiat Group. Could some agreement be reached for Fiat to piece together Euro-spec Nanos sometime in the future? It's speculation, though not as crazy as the idea of a V-12 Nano.
Posted by: Nick Kurczewski | March 13, 2008 at 11:13 AM