Indians who changed the face of Indian motoring

India is celebrating its 70th Independence Day this year. It’s been seven decades now, but the Indian automotive industry began picking pace only recently. Just like we owe our independence to the hundreds of freedom fighters who fought for our cause, we also owe the current progress in the Indian automotive scene to a select few pioneers who thought ahead of their times. Thanks to them, today India is well on its way to entering the top 5 list of large car markets around the world. Check out these stalwarts who changed the face of Indian Motoring.

Walchand Hirachand Doshi

Walchand Hirachand Doshi, founder of Walchand Group, was an industrialist who first laid the bricks of a modern shipyard, aircraft factory and the very first car manufacturing plant in the country. As early as 1940, seven years before Independence, Walchand signed an MOU with Chrysler, but wasn’t able to get clearance from the Maharaja of Mysore. Then in 1945, he established Premier Automobiles near Mumbai. The first car rolled out of his factory in 1949, ahead of his arch-rival, the Birla and Hindustan Motors venture. The ambition of Walchand Hirachand was truly the stepping stone of the Indian automotive industry.

Ratan Tata

A recipient of two of the highest civilian awards in India – Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan – Ratan Tata needs no introduction in India. A philanthropist by nature, Ratan Tata bought the British JLR under the Indian ownership. He was No.61 on Forbes list of Powerful People in 2010. And who can forget the glorious moment in the Indian automotive history when Ratan Tata fulfilled his promised and delivered the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, or as Ratan Tata likes to call it ´the people car´.

Keshub Mahindra

Indian businessman and the chairman emeritus of the Mahindra Group, Keshub Mahindra, retired as chairman in August 2012 after heading the Mahindra Group for nearly five decades. Keshub Mahindra, along with his cousin Harish Mahindra, laid the bedrock for the company’s evolution and progress in 1947. Keshub Mahindra has been appointed by the Government of India to serve on numerous committees. In 1987, he was also awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur by the French Government

Chetan Maini

From history to future, Chetan Maini is the founder and advisor of India’s first electric car company, Reva Electric Vehicle. In 2009, Chetan Maini was one of the India's ´Top 50 Influential people´ in the Business Week magazine. He also built India's first electric car, the REVA. He holds over 40 patents in battery and energy management systems in electric vehicle technologies. Maini has over 20 years of experience with electric vehicles during the course of which he has developed six electric, solar and hybrid-electric cars in India. And now that he has moved onto the EV battery industry, there can be no doubt that Chetan Maini has an even bigger role to play in the future of Indian auto industry.

R. C. Bhargava

R. C. Bhargava is the former C.E.O and current chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL). This is the country’s largest automobile manufacturers right now with more than 50 per cent market share. He joined Maruti in 1981, and he has remained there ever since. In 2016, R.C. Bhargava was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India. Under his look out, Maruti Suzuki has become the force to reckon within the Indian car market.

Narain Karthikeyan

From philanthropists, founders, and CEOs, we now move on to race car drivers. Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan is the first Indian racing driver in the epitome of motor racing, the Formula 1. He also raced in formidable races such as Le Mans, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Auto GP series and Japanese Super Formula series. The Government of India also awarded him the Padma Shri in 2010. Karthikeyan has inspired millions of budding racers in the country proving that no motorsport stage is unachievable.

Gaurav Gill

Where Karthikeyan made a mark in track racing, Gaurav Gill went off-road. In 2013, Gaurav Gill became the first Indian driver to win the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in his Skoda Fabia S2000 for Team MRF Škoda. Gaurav Gill is a formidable example of Indian Motorsport. Now, he plans to set up a platform for aspiring rally drivers with his new training academy.