Tata Motors Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the proposed integration with Iveco Group is expected to create a larger commercial vehicle business with combined revenue rising to about $35 billion to $40 billion over the next five years from around $25 billion now. This translates into 40-60% growth during the targeted period.
Responding to stakeholder queries at the company’s latest annual general meeting, Chandrasekaran said the Iveco acquisition would be financed through a mix of debt and internal cash generation. He said the debt would be serviced and repaid through Iveco Group’s future cash flows, and no equity dilution is envisaged.
Furthermore, he noted that the company will continue to spend 2% to 4% of its annual revenue on capital expenditure, earmarking about 55% of that investment for future technologies. Spending would remain low when upgrading existing vehicle platforms and increase during major product and technology programmes, the top executive continued.
A back of the envelop calculation suggests that if Tata Motors and Iveco together end up with annual revenue of about $35 billion to $40 billion over the next five years, then spending 2% to 4% of that on capital expenditure would mean roughly $700 million to $1.6 billion a year. If half of that capex is directed toward future technologies, the amount set aside for those projects would be about $350 million to $800 million annually.
Chandrasekaran, earlier during his address at the AGM stated that the company has secured the majority of the regulatory approvals required for the multi-country transaction and is working through the remaining clearances, with completion targeted for the second quarter of fiscal 2027.
The Chairman outlined three strategic rationales for the deal: access to IVECO's powertrain and other technology, an expanded international footprint that builds on Tata's existing overseas presence, and broader product capabilities to compete across markets with varying customer needs. He said the combined entity is targeting a position among the top four commercial vehicle makers globally; a notable ambition in an industry currently led by manufacturers such as Daimler Truck, Traton (Volkswagen's truck unit), Volvo Group, and Paccar.
Asked about the biggest challenges facing Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, the Chairman identified geopolitical uncertainty, disruption in supply chain and commodity price volatility as the three big risks. The company, Chadrasekaran pointed out, is mitigating them by increasing localisation to reduce supply-chain disruptions and by improving value engineering plus effective cost management to offset raw material inflation.