Tata Motors is struggling to get a grip on the steering wheel. Ex-Daimler executive Marc Llistosella will no longer be joining the $15 billion owner of Jaguar Land Rover as chief executive of its Indian business in July due to “personal reasons”, the company revealed on Friday.
Llistosella was to be the fifth boss in a decade – or sixth counting Cyrus Mistry who, following Karl Slym’s death in 2014, effectively assumed the role while also running the wider salt-to-hotels conglomerate. By contrast, top passenger-vehicle rival Maruti Suzuki has had the same boss since 2013.
The CEO potholes draw attention to Tata Motors’ lacklustre shareholder returns which for the past decade have trailed both Maruti and JLR rival BMW. After burning cash for two financial years, Tata Motors’ Indian business is finally getting back on track. It would be a bad time to leave the driver’s seat empty. (By Una Galani)