Ratan Tata, a car enthusiast, has died aged 86, was India’s most celebrated industrialist. In 2008, he bought the troubled Jaguar Land Rover business for £1.75bn.

Tata produced what was called “the first Indian car”, designed by and for Indians, in 1998. Ratan did some of the first drawings himself. The Tata Indica was a success. 

He went further a decade later, and the company conceived the Nano, a tiny saloon described as the world’s most affordable car at a price of about £2,000

In 1999 Tata had travelled to Detroit to discuss the sale of the motor business to Ford, only to be asked why his firm had gone into the passenger car business when it clearly knew nothing about it. Later he would turn the tables, buying underperforming Jaguar Land Rover from Ford and reviving it.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/11/ratan-tata-obituary