The 2016-17 financial year happened to be an exceptionally good one for most domestic automobile makers. Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher and Ashok Leyland had record profits, mostly a function of rising domestic volumes and benign raw material prices.
However, one company did not ride the wave. Tata Motors’ standalone business (excluding its cash cow, Jaguar Land Rover) reported a loss of Rs 2,480 crore in FY17. The loss grew manifold from only Rs 62 crore in the year ended March 31, 2016. In the past five financial years, the standalone business has generated a total profit of Rs 870