Driving Tata Trivia Quiz

Answer: Locomotives

Tata Motors is part of the Tata Group, an Indian conglomerate that manufactures everything from salt to steel. Founded as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) in 1945, the company originally manufactured locomotives and engines. Over its 75 year history, it now manufactures various types of automobiles ranging from passenger cars to military vehicles.

Answer: Daimler-Benz

In 1954, the group first entered the commercial vehicle space through a joint venture with German auto manufacturer, Daimler-Benz. The Tata Group dominated this space for several decades. It took another forty years (almost) before the company looked to diversify to another segment, namely passenger vehicles.

Answer: Buses

Marcopolo is a Brazilian bus and coach manufacturer that was established in 1949. The Tata Marcopolo joint venture was formed in 2008 with the Indian partner holding 51% share and the Brazilian, the balance 49%. The company has set up two manufacturing facilities - the main one in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and the other in Dharwad, Karnataka.

The Tata Marcopolo buses have been acquired by various Indian city councils as part of their transport fleet.

Answer: Estate

The Tata Estate was manufactured from 1992 to 2000. It was the first station wagon produced by the group and also the group's first foray into the passenger vehicle segment. The manufacturing line was based on that of the existing TataMobile, a light commercial vehicle.

This helped keep costs under control. This model was fairly successful, until this style of car dropped out of favour and was discontinued.

Answer: Sierra

The Tata Sierra was a three-door SUV and the first SUV to be designed and manufactured in India. It was exported under the names Tata Sport and Tata TelcoSport. The Sierra was again based on the Telcoline, with slight modifications. It did not find much market acceptance and was replaced by the more successful Tata Safari in 2000.

Answer: Indica

Launched in 1999, the Indica is considered to be the first fully indigenous passenger car manufactured in India. The name itself is taken from "India's car". This model was later also exported to some European and African countries.

Answer: Sumo

The word 'sumo' will typically conjure up images of Japanese wrestlers. While that image would be fitting for a sturdy sports utility vehicle, the model did not derive its name from here. Instead it was named after Sumant Moolgaokar, who served as the MD of Tata Motors.

The Tata Sumo worked well for off-road driving and for military use. It become popular immediately on launch in 1994 and had a successful run of over two decades before it was discontinued in 2019.

Answer: Ace

The Tata Ace is a mini-truck that was launched in 2005. Unlike the other brands in this segment that manufactured three-wheeled carriers, the Ace had four wheels. This light commercial vehicle was designed to be able to transport goods over relatively short distances.

The Ace revolutionized this segment and became an overnight success. In recent years, the group has also manufactured electric variants of this mini-truck.

Answer: Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar and Land Rover were originally part of the British group, British Leyland. Both were later, and many years apart, acquired by the Ford Motor Company. In 2008, both brands were sold by Ford to the Tata Group.

Answer: Nano

The then Chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, had the idea of developing a Tata Nano when he saw a family getting wet in the rain while travelling on a scooter. He wanted to make a car that would be affordable for this segment of the country's population.

Despite an increase in input costs during the time of manufacture, Tata kept his promise and launched the Tata Nano at Rs. 1 lakh (USD $2500), making it the world's cheapest car. Unfortunately, the car was not a success. According to marketing analysts, the segment at which this car was targeted did not want to be associated with the 'cheapest' car, choosing instead to buy other models.

It wound up being bought by urban dwellers as a convenient second car with its small size making parking in crowded cities easier.

However, this segment wasn't sufficient to continue the manufacture of this model and it ceased production in 2018.