Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd’s global business has received a boost with Stellantis NV agreeing to use the Indian carmaker’s platform for Jeep models, while its British unit, Jaguar Land Rover, has initiated a feasibility study for a tie-up with the Amsterdam-based automaker in the US market.
The Dutch carmaker said during its investor day on Thursday that the Tata-platform-based vehicle will be exported, while the proposed JLR partnership is aimed at reducing development costs and exploring technology synergies.
"Tata Motors has been a Stellantis partner for more than 20 years and will provide a highly competitive platform to develop a new Jeep car that will be developed and assembled in our Stellantis Tata JV in India for the world,” Grégoire Olivier, head of the Asia Pacific region at Stellantis, said on Thursday.
Stellantis and Tata Motors renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) in February 2026 to explore further opportunities for collaboration across manufacturing, engineering and supply chain in the country and overseas. Both have a joint venture, Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd, which manufactures Stellantis and Tata Motors’ models and engines.
Fresh momentum
Tata Motors’ increased engagement with Stellantis is a shot in the arm for the company, as it is not its first attempt to scale its global engagements with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In 2017, it signed an MoU with Volkswagen Group to explore joint product development, though the partnership did not materialize after the companies concluded it would not deliver the desired cost savings.
The Indian carmaker's push to deepen ties with global OEMs also aligns with its growing engagement with international component and technology suppliers.
Companies such as Swedish automotive safety supplier Autoliv, American automotive technology firm Visteon Corporation and Israel-headquartered autonomous driving venture Mobileye Global Inc. have flagged India as a key growth driver in recent earnings, citing rising demand from local carmakers for advanced safety systems and driver-assistance technologies, Mint reported on 4 May. The shift is being driven largely by Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.
A day earlier, on Wednesday, Tata-owned British luxury carmaker JLR announced it is also exploring a partnership with the Dutch carmaker in the US market to develop cars and technology.
While JLR counts North America as its largest sales market, the region is Stellantis' second-largest market after Europe.
“It’s in the early stages, and a non-binding MoU has been signed, with next steps including a feasibility study. Under the terms of the non-binding MoU, Stellantis and JLR will explore collaboration opportunities to create synergies across product and technology development in the US, leveraging the companies’ complementary strengths to create value for both organizations,” a JLR spokesperson told Mint.
In the past, both companies have flagged the uneven pace of electrification in the US market. In February, Stellantis announced a $26 billion write-off on EV investments as it reassessed its electric-vehicle strategy.
On Thursday, Stellantis chief executive Antonio Filosa said that the North American market has followed a different path in electrification than Europe and China. According to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI), China sold 12.9 million EVs in 2025, up 20% from a year ago, while Europe sold only 4.3 million, up 33%. North America recorded just 1.8 million EV sales, down 4%.
The Jeep maker’s rethink comes even as JLR said on 14 May that it was reassessing how to deploy investments in the North American market, where demand for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is expected to persist for the foreseeable future.
“I think there is inevitably going to be a little bit of a change in prioritization of that as we know globally, and particularly for the US market, we need to keep ICE vehicles in our portfolio for longer… So there might be a bit of change in terms of exactly how we spend that money,” said Richard Molyneux, JLR's chief financial officer, on 14 May about its EV strategy.
Tata Motors PV did not respond to Mint's queries until press time.
Broader horizon
Experts say that strong engagement with Stellantis will be a crucial signal that Tata Motors PV is broadening global ambitions. “The Stellantis linkage is strategically important because it signals growing confidence in Tata’s underlying vehicle architectures, software stack and cost engineering capabilities,” said Amit Kaushik, founder of Mobidx.Ai, a New Delhi-based automotive-focused intelligence and analytics firm.
“If Tata platforms begin powering products for global OEMs like Jeep, it changes the perception of the group from a regional manufacturer to a scalable global technology and manufacturing partner.”
Kaushik added that JLR’s study for partnership with Stellantis is equally significant because premium automotive economics are increasingly being driven by alliances around EV platforms, software, sourcing and localization.
Tata’s shares on Friday rose 0.62% during trading hours, as against the Nifty Auto’s 0.64% gains.
