Tata first came to Geneva 11 years ago. I was at the press conference - with about four other people. And, to be honest, in subsequent years there’s been a similar lack of interest. In fact, it was only recently that Ratan Tata himself was personally calling an Autocar reporter in an attempt to drum up some interest.
This year, though, it was madness. I’m only guessing, but I doubt any Geneva unveil has ever been more crowded. Hundreds of hacks and cameramen were jostling for position to see Mr Tata take the wraps off the new Indica supermini and the first Nano in Europe. Typically he gave a very modest speech, thanking the Europeans for their support and saying how proud he was that his car company was finally making a contribution to the global car business.
You can say that again. Now that Ratan’s on the brink of buying Jaguar and Land Rover he’s never ever going to be speaking to an empty house at a major motor show again.