Shares of auto major Tata Motors fell 4.1% to Rs 146 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, following the resignation of group chief executive officer and managing director Carl-Peter Forster last week, even as the company said that Forster's exit will not impact the future of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Immediately after his resignation on Friday, Tata Motors' depository receipts fell by 9.2% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Reacting to market speculation that Forster's exit could have an impact on the two brands and their turnaround, a company spokesperson said: "It would be wrong to credit JLR's turnaround to Carl-Peter Forster."
However, industry watchers said investors were more concerned about JLR's performance in the face of a slowdown in Europe. "It has more to do with the current European slowdown than the CEO resignation," said Surjit Arora, auto analyst, Prabhudas Liladhar. "Any uncertainty in Europe, one of the key market for JLR, will affect Tata Motors' stock".
"The underperformance of the stock for the last six-eight months is mainly due to European slowdown," he said.