What happened
Auto stock Tata Motors (TTM) jumped on Tuesday, trading up 13.4% as of 2:45 p.m. EDT. Earlier in the day, shares of India's automotive bellwether hit 52-week highs on India's National Stock Exchange on the back of two big announcements.
So what
Tata Motors released surprisingly strong global wholesale numbers for its second quarter of fiscal 2022 on Oct. 11:
- Total sales were up 24% year over year to 251,689 units.
- Commercial vehicle sales were up 57% to 89,055 units.
- Passenger vehicle sales were up 11% to 162,634 units.
- Jaguar Land Rover sales were down 14% to 78,251 units.
Jaguar Land Rover was a chink in Tata Motors' numbers, but the company had already warned of lower sales in the wake of the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage that has hit automakers across the board.
Importantly, Tata Motors said orders for Jaguar Land Rover are at record levels, indicating strong demand. That's encouraging as JLR accounts for the bulk of the company's sales.
Image source: Jaguar Land Rover.
In another major development on Oct. 12, Tata Motors announced an agreement with TPG Group to raise nearly $1 billion to make headway into electric cars. The private equity firm will invest $1 billion in 2022 in an electric-vehicle subsidiary that Tata Motors will set up. The subsidiary will focus on battery electric vehicles, battery technology, and charging infrastructure, among other things, and aims to build a portfolio of 10 EVs in five years.
Now what
Electric cars are already changing the dynamics of the passenger vehicles space in the automotive sector, so it's imperative for Tata Motors to go with the tide. With the Indian government also aspiring for 30% of new vehicle sales in the nation to be electric by 2030, Tata Motors could see a lot of success ahead if it can build a strong EV growth road map for itself.
