By Phuti Mpyane
Thato Magasa is the new CEO of Tata Motors in South Africa, assuming the role in 2025 after leading Japanese brand Mitsubishi from 2021.
Looking after the interests of a niche brand catering mostly to adventure enthusiasts has its challenges, but the mainstream passenger market in South Africa is an entirely different beast.
Whereas the commercial subsidiary of Tata has operated in South Africa without pause since the early 1990s, the passenger car division that was founded in 2004 has had its ups and downs, exiting the market in 2019, and blaming slow demand for its range of cars.
On its return to South Africa in late 2025, the brand finds a market with a different complexion and headlined by a Chinese brand revolution, as well as a pushback by legacy brands. Magasa offers a different context to what took place in 2019.
It was a deliberate move by Motus, the group that holds the licence to import Tata passenger cars into South Africa and currently in the news due to legal matters, “retreating” as opposed to “abandoning” customers, as he describes it. Magasa says it was a much-needed decision as the global Tata business was undergoing a renaissance, fixing the quality and innovating its product portfolio to align with global customer expectations at the time.
Three distinct and focused business units comprising commercial, passenger and luxury divisions came out from the consolidation, the latter hallmarked by the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in 2008. Magasa says Motus has since 2019 been in contact with Tata HQ, tracking product development and market viability considering the similarities in terrain and customer needs between the Indian and South African markets.
Once the company was satisfied with the consolidation efforts, a local team had tested and verified the new line-up as proper for this market, and the global sales volumes of more than 1-million cars annually reached from a base of 600,000 units indicated market acceptance, Motus was confident enough to commence with the re-establishment of the brand in South Africa. It relaunched late in 2025 with the Tata Tiago, Punch, Curvv and Harrier models.
The CEO points to the Tata Tiago in particular as the catalyst model that leads Tata South Africa’s rebirth and long-term sustainability plans. Magasa says he is focused on using this model — which is to be priced at less than R200,000 — to target citizens who are progressing from a reliance on public transport to having their own wheels.
He says the many years he’s spent in the industry have taught him to appreciate the transportation plight faced by most of the country’s citizens as well as the strength of this section of the market as a building block for any brand to succeed in South Africa, more so when profitability isn’t guaranteed thanks to a Chinese car revolution and consolidated pricing structures across the board.
Magasa, who is also vice-president of Naamsa, promises aggressive pricing and specifications for the new Tata Nexon and Sierra SUVs when they arrive later this year. But what are his thoughts on the raging import versus local manufacturing debate? He says it’s not a new phenomenon.
“For as long as the South African automotive industry has been in existence, the two sides have cordially operated alongside, catering to the needs of various customers. The difference now is that the automotive sector is engaged with putting together the new automotive white paper. Understandably, both sides are looking to ensure their futures,” says the CEO.
With the latest news that Chinese brand Chery has bought Nissan’s Rosslyn plant in Pretoria, Magasa says there’s no plan to manufacture Tata passenger cars locally.
“Everything is about scale, and the current annual sales numbers don’t justify us entertaining that sort of undertaking. Only when the local industry shifts unit sales beyond the current 500,000 units could the prospect be investigated.”
