R H Pandit, Founder of Pandit Automotive

“We will always remain with Tata Motors. There is no one else for us”

	Mr. R H Pandit with his colleague - the late Mr. Ashok Deshpande - at the delivery of the 1210 model

As one walks down Tilak Road in Pune, the sparkling showroom of Pandit Automotive catches the eye of every passer by. Pandit Automotive has been synonymous with Tata Motors for more than four decades now and the idea of charting the history of the Company from Mr R H Pandit’s point of view is exciting. Mr Ramchandra Pandit is the founder of Pandit Automotive Ltd, one of Tata Motors’ earliest dealers in Maharashtra. The nonagenarian excitedly talks about the old days.

“I was first a sub dealer of Dadajee Dhakjee way back in 1961. Dadajee Dhakjee had the dealership for Bombay Residency. Every month, one vehicle was sent to me. However, I knew I was on the right track. It was in 1963 that Telco gave me the dealership.” Mr Pandit reminisces about the times when Tata Motors was a young company.

He was the first dealer in Pune, Sangli and Satara. “I remember there was an All India State Transport Meeting organised by Tata Motors in the early sixties and I had made all the arrangements for the meeting. The seniors of Tata Motors were happy with my work and I was awarded the full dealership.” Mr Pandit narrates. Today, Pandit Automotive is one of the few dealers that house the entire range of products – from the Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs) to passenger cars.

In those days, the vehicles received by the dealers were few. People had to wait for months before they were given a Tata vehicle. Dodge and Fargo were doing brisk business and Mr Pandit had to compete against established players to make a mark in Pune. “I used to market the Tata products myself. I had no one to do the marketing. I used to talk to potential customers because they needed to be convinced to buy the Tata vehicles. There were times when I personally have stood guarantor to customers for bank loans.” he says recalling earlier days.

Mr.Pandit always stressed on the best customer service for his customers. Since he had a small team, he would ask his mechanics to wait until late evening to service the trucks in the workshop. He was aware that even one additional day the truck remained in the service workshop meant loss of revenue for the owner. The same service ethics still govern Pandit Automotive.

“The values we live by are the values we learnt from the Tatas. Mr Sumant Moolgaokar was a great believer in constant improvement. However, he always said that we should not pass on the cost of improvements to the customer. Even when the trucks were in such great demand that people were ready to pay premium on delivery, we never increased the prices nor did we deal underhand,”  the voice of conscience rings strong in Mr R H Pandit. He is proud of the fact that even today Pandit Automotive is known for fair-dealing.

Mr Pandit remembers many firsts - like the first 709 keys being handed over to him. He also received the keys to the first Tata Estate from Mr JRD Tata. His association with Tata Motors is like that of a family. He says, “I remember I was approached by many other automobile manufacturers who wanted to lure me away from Tata Motors and take up their dealerships. But I steadfastly refused. I remember Mr Sumant Moolgaokar would get angry whenever anybody approached him with the request for permission to deal with other automobile products. He said that if you want to deal with other products, leave Telco. You are married to Telco and you can marry only once. I personally am happy with this marriage and have no intention of leaving.”

Today Mr Pandit has left the management of the business in the capable hands of Mr Abhijeet Deshpande. Pandit Automotive continues to be at the forefront in all the dealer related initiatives that the company takes – well knowing that there is growth and prosperity with Tata Motors.

(Source: As told to Anagha Wankar, Tata Motors, Pune)