It's official: Jaguar and Land Rover now owned by TATA

[Jim Prower]

Tata completes acquisitions of Land Rover, Jaguar.

The AP (6/3, Karoub) reports that "Ford Motor officially unloaded its storied Jaguar and Land Rover businesses on Monday -- netting the cash-strapped automaker a $1.7 billion boost that's a mere third of what it paid for the two luxury brands." According to India's Tata Motors, "it had completed the purchase of the brands in a deal first announced March 26." Under the deal, "Tata is paying about $2.3 billion for the British brands."

Ford "has contributed about $600 million to the Jaguar and Land Rover pension plans, and long-term agreements have been entered into for the supply of engines, stampings and other components," according to Reuters (6/3, Chandran). The deal also "includes all necessary intellectual property rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centers in the U.K., and a worldwide network of sales companies." Tata's Chairman Ratan Tata said that "Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands (and) will retain their distinctive identities and continue to pursue their respective business plans as before."

"We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realize their competitive potential," Dow Jones (6/3, Choudhury) quotes Ratan Tata as saying.

The BBC (6/3) notes, "Ford has been forced to sell" Jaguar and Land Rover "in order to concentrate on its loss-making core U.S. car business, which it hopes to turn around in the next two years."

Thomson Financial (6/3), the Detroit Free Press (6/2, Webster), the Detroit News (6/2), and Market Watch (6/3, Langlois) also cover the story.

Article Links:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-06-02-ford-deal-complete_N.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060200690.html
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200806020833DOWJONESDJONLINE000234_FORTUNE5.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7431789.stm

We all knew it, but this is the finalized deal.

 

[mafia_boy]

So when's the Jaguar Nano coming out now??

 

[Jim Prower]

It wouldn't surprise me if TATA tried to sell their cars internationally through Jaguar/Land Rover dealers.

 

[mafia_boy]

You can just picture the salesman in the showroom with his future clientel..........

"Well Sir, here is the S-Type, here is the XKR, here is the Land Rover Discovery, and..................the nano.

Or they could just start sticking SatNav, alacantara leather, woodgrain dash, Bose system and bling bling rims on the Nano and try to make it a "Jaguar Nano". Jaguar badge to the grill and we're done turning the nano into a 30k car for the RICH super-mini driver.

 

[Jim Prower]

Let's say this...

You won't be seeing the Nano. It's strictly for poor people, In poor countries. No WAY that thing can be civilized enough to compete against anything modern.

You'll more than likely be seeing cars like their Indigo and Indica, competing against cheap Korean and Malaysian cars. and the Chinese, if they get their act together.

 

[Dave A]

You can just picture the salesman in the showroom with his future clientel..........

"Well Sir, here is the S-Type, here is the XKR, here is the Land Rover Discovery, and..................the nano.

Or they could just start sticking SatNav, alacantara leather, woodgrain dash, Bose system and bling bling rims on the Nano and try to make it a "Jaguar Nano". Jaguar badge to the grill and we're done turning the nano into a 30k car for the RICH super-mini driver.

Or how about no. I think you'll find that in cases where one car company is owned by another they tend to keep thier identities. That means that Jaguar dealerships will still be Jaguar dealerships and Land Rover dealerships will still be Land Rover dealerships. All that matters is if Tata provide the fuding required and Jaguar and Land Rover reply with long term profits. While seeing a Nano lined up next to an XKR and S-Type would be amusing, it's not good business and not going to happen.

 

[Sureboss]

Does it pass European NCAP tests? I thought it had quite a poor strength of metal (part of it being cheap).

 

[Scaff]

Does it pass European NCAP tests? I thought it had quite a poor strength of metal (part of it being cheap).

The Nano has never been put through NCAP, and would be very, very unlikely to get past its test standards.

I do however know that well will never see them in Europe without major changes, the main one being that the engine only means Euro 2 compliance (which makes it amazingly clean running by Indian regulations), falling well short of the Euro 4 compliance currently required.

In addition as the hatchback is actually no such thing (its welded shut for strength) and the car has no soundproofing I have a feeling it may well fall short of the basic standard of kit we tend to expect (well how else do you think these things are so damn cheap).


Regards

Scaff

 

[Motominded]

*holds breath cause it's coming*

 

[Pupik]

*holds breath cause it's coming*

So, you're blue in the head by now, right?

Stick a Q-tip in your ear to equalize the pressure, because the F-type was dropped years ago, and 8-year-old concepts typically don't see production.

 

[Motominded]

So, you're blue in the head by now, right?

Stick a Q-tip in your ear to equalize the pressure, because the F-type was dropped years ago, and 8-year-old concepts typically don't see production.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=12&article_id=6783

 

[Pupik]

Looks a tad different to me.

 

[Motominded]

Looks a tad different to me.

rendered speculation is just that...speculation.

The reason i posted that first pic is cause i know there will be a F-type vehicle in the future.

I dont know what it will look like and i doubt it will look like the car in the link.

Hopefully Tata does the right thing and let true British design and engineering come up with what is supposed to be the desendent of the E-type.

 

[EA11R]

^Letting Jaguar engineer thier own cars? Good luck with that one...

For what it's worth, I read in a magazine (Either Car and Driver or Automobile, I don't pretend to remember which.) that the Nano, despite its size and price, feels substantial and planted. Though, in the design analysis of the car, the author does mention the aesthetic merits of the sheetmetal's folds, but more importantly he mentions the strengthening effect of every single detail of the car's body.

I personally think that, with a redone -less akward- rear end, larger wheels, and a much weaker aura of poverty, the Nano could be a very stylish little car. It looks tight and well-proportioned, the side intakes of the car are a sporty -yet functional and unannoying- touch, and the rear engine gives the car pleasing proportions.

 

[exigeracer]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=12&article_id=6783

Road and Track is the least reliable source for automotive rumor in the world. It's an entertainment magazine, not an automotive industry magazine. I remember getting a subscription as a kid for my birthday, and even as a 12 yearold I thought it was a total joke. I still love flipping through the pages now and seeing what they thought cars would be like.

 

[mafia_boy]

2012......a bit far fetched to me. I was of the opinion that they killed that off the second after they released that concept.

Dave A, the main problem with the Jaguar is that it's been falling behind while the other companies (Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW, Mercedes) have all moved forward in their car evolutions. The XK platform for example is using the same 4.2L supercharged V8 for over 10yrs, and while 400hp was awesome back in the late 90's, compared to most other cars it's now falling behind when the others are looking at 450hp minimum, especially when the other brands have moved onto new platforms.

Land Rover's problem is it's too niche and/or overpriced compared to other SUV's. The freelander is a perfect example of that. The Range Rover is usually owned by more rich people and the rising cost of fuel isn't helping things either when it comes to purchasing cars like these.

To be honest, because of the ever rising fuel costs I wouldn't be surprised if they did do that somewhere in the near future, or had a Tata dealership next to the Jaguar dealership.