The low carbon automotive sector in the UK received a major boost today as Tata Motors’ European Technical Centre (TMETC), a wholly-owned UK-based subsidiary of Tata Motors, announced that it will be expanding its partnership with WMG at the University of Warwick. The technical centre, owned by the Indian firm, plans to increase its team of highly skilled engineers working on the campus by 40 per cent over the next two years.
Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, has altogether invested over £85m in automotive R&D at the centre since it was established on the University campus in 2005. It already has a team of 240 engineers and researchers working alongside Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) colleagues, with 60 of these hired over the last 12 months due to increased R&D investment. The centre has now announced that it aims to increase the engineering and research force by a further 100 to 340 by 2013.
Dr Tim Leverton, Head of Advanced and Product Engineering at Tata Motors Limited said:“Today’s announcement represents a further demonstration of Tata’s long-term commitment to build and develop R&D facilities here in the UK. TMETC plays a vital role in Tata Motors global R&D network. Tata Motors gets access to world class thoughts, skills and technologies through the TMETC and its collaboration with WMG. The contribution of TMETC and WMG is important to Tata Motors product development”.
TMETC’s engineers, who have extensive experience in automotive research, design and development, work alongside WMG researchers in low carbon technology collaborative R&D programmes. The focus on low carbon technology has already started to produce tangible results, for example Tata Motors’ Vista Electric Vehicle which will be built at a factory in Coventry and will be available to fleet customers in the UK later this year.
Furthermore Tata Motors’ Pixel Concept City Car, which was unveiled by the Chairman, Ratan N. Tata, and Managing Director & Group CEO, Carl-Peter Forster at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, has also been developed on WMG campus. Based on the Tata Nano, the Tata Pixel is a concept car aimed at the European market and features a ‘Zero Turn Infinitely Variable Transmission’ which gives it a turning circle radius of just 2.6 metres, making it ideal for driving in dense urban environments.
