Tata Motors puts talks with Chinese car makers on hold due to border tensions

Amidst the India-China standoff in Galwan Valley and other border areas, there are major calls for boycotting Chinese products across India. After the report of Chery Automobiles, based in China put off the purchase of passenger vehicles business unit of Tata Motors, a new report suggests that Tata has put the talks with Chinese carmakers on hold due to the border tensions.

Sources at Tata Motors say that amidst the tensions the talks with all the Chinese carmakers have been put on hold. Tata Motors officials have said that they are in talks with various manufacturers for suitable partnership opportunities and the final decision will be made in due course.

As per the report on ET Now, the manufacturer has been looking for partners in Europe, Korea, Japan and China for a possible partnership for their passenger vehicles units in India. However, the talks with the Chinese manufacturer – Chery and Geely have been put on hold.

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It should be noted that Chery and Tata Motors already have a partnership in the Chinese market for the Land Rover Jaguar business. However, the Indian automobile giant is currently reviewing all the partnership possibilities.

In March, before the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, a report in TOI said that Tata is looking to transfer or partner with its Indian Passenger Vehicle Business to a different entity. This is due to the constantly declining sales of the passenger vehicles in India due to the economic reasons and the COVID-19 pandemic. Chery Automobile Co Ltd was expected to buy 49% stake in Tata’s Passenger Vehicle Unit. The new partnership would have allowed Tata Motors and Chery Automobile to develop new products including electric powertrain solutions.

There is a massive call for a boycott all kind of Chinese products and decrease the dependency on Chinese imports after the face-off in Galwan Valley in Ladakh. The Indian consumers have raised their voices on social platforms to boycott the Chinese products and many have even started holding protests on the streets.

The passenger vehicle segment is going through one of the most difficult times in India ever. The growth of all the manufacturers is currently in negative and it will take months before the sales are expected to reach the pre-COVID times.

Tata has currently a few products scheduled for the Indian market including the all-new HBX entry-level SUV that was showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo and the Tata Gravitas. Earlier this year, Tata launched the all-new Altroz and Nexon EV. The manufacturer also launched the facelifted version of the Tata Harrier with a more powerful engine.

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