It's true: Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover for 2.3 Billion..
- Thread starter High-Test
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- It/It
- GTP_TheCracker
I thought Tata had been the front runners since the potential sale was announced?
- 23,931
- It/It
- GTP_TheCracker
Jag and Land Rover still had plenty of unwanted baggage with them, left over from the British Leyland days, when Ford bought them. Apathy was probably still rife within the factories.
Having said that, most of the Jags, Land Rovers and Range Rovers built and conceived during Ford ownership have been pretty good/successful.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
I'll look at it this way:
As long as the British management stays in and the cars continue to be designed and built in England I could honestly care less where the money comes from. Tata, from what I understand, is a very strong company with a lot of money behind it. Things could go from decent to better shortly, I hope.
Although there have been rumors that Land Rover may get sold-off as well after Tata holds them for a bit...
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And it sounds like Ford is doing a complete dump, which is surprising. They held onto 20% of Aston Martin when they let them go. One wonders what exactly Tata will do if Ford doesn't want to continue the parts supply deals... I know Aston is already looking to Mercedes for some stuff.
As long as the British management stays in and the cars continue to be designed and built in England I could honestly care less where the money comes from. Tata, from what I understand, is a very strong company with a lot of money behind it. Things could go from decent to better shortly, I hope.
Although there have been rumors that Land Rover may get sold-off as well after Tata holds them for a bit...
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And it sounds like Ford is doing a complete dump, which is surprising. They held onto 20% of Aston Martin when they let them go. One wonders what exactly Tata will do if Ford doesn't want to continue the parts supply deals... I know Aston is already looking to Mercedes for some stuff.
Robin
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If you listen carfully you can hear the screams of 1,000's of Bitish workers scream in agony of now being owned by Indians.
Oh the Irony!!
I seriously think TATA will do a good job, they are a serious player now and they have the resources and cash to make great changes, unlike Ford who can't even pay for their own heating at the moment!
Robin
- 7,666
I could see this becoming a quite promising relationship so long as Tata keeps their noses out for the most part. I'm curious to see who would buy Land Rover off of Tata. It is interesting to see a company making some of the more cheap cars out there in charge of two class-leading brands.
If you listen carfully you can hear the screams of 1,000's of Bitish workers scream in agony of now being owned by Indians.
- 793
it's not 100% sold...that will probably take another 1 - 2 years with accounting and all other things crossed over.
I wish TATA good luck and a similar success as Prodrive is having with Aston.
I wish TATA good luck and a similar success as Prodrive is having with Aston.
- 793
I could see this becoming a quite promising relationship so long as Tata keeps their noses out for the most part. I'm curious to see who would buy Land Rover off of Tata. It is interesting to see a company making some of the more cheap cars out there in charge of two class-leading brands.
Your wrong. This is a time to be happy as this will probably save the two brands.
- 40,767
I'm baffled as to Ford's failure with the two. When Ford bough Jaguar, they were still making 20 year old XJS', to such a low standard that "one could see the differences in the panel shapes on each side of the car." Then Ford spends a few billion on Jag to make it competitive (how British Leyland sucker punched Ford so hard in the first place is a mystery to me), only to realize that people still don't want the things. Then they sell it at a loss compared to what it was worth when all of the cars were held together by shoelaces.
Land Rover is even funnier, considering it was BMW who played Ford in this case by being the one who spent the money to completely turn the company around, then sold it off at a loss. And then, Ford can't sell them either. It makes me wonder if there is just something inherently wrong with British company ownership. At least Ford still has Volvo. Those seem to sell, thankfully.
Land Rover is even funnier, considering it was BMW who played Ford in this case by being the one who spent the money to completely turn the company around, then sold it off at a loss. And then, Ford can't sell them either. It makes me wonder if there is just something inherently wrong with British company ownership. At least Ford still has Volvo. Those seem to sell, thankfully.
- 1,579
You really think Jaguar is in a shambles now? I think they're far better than they've ever been. Most of the press agrees. The XK, while antiquated in concept, has been heavily modernized to the point where it's actually modern. The XJ is...well, it's an XJ. But the XF really is a new idea (if by "new" we mean "new for Jaguar after 40 years"). It's *good* inside, and outside. They finally dumped the X-Type (a good idea) and the horrifically ancient-looking-but-good-on-the-inside S-Type. I think things are looking up for Jaguar.
Toronado
Land Rover's in the same condition as Jaguar. It, too, has drastically turned itself around. It's actually reached "pimp status" of sorts. Not quite the same as the Escalade, but really, what could?
What I think trips people up about British cars is the long-held belief that they're rustbuckets waiting to happen, and that they along with the Italian brands spend more time in the shop rather than on the road. This is certainly true (of both countries) throughout the 1970's and 80's, and is definitely the direct cause of their exit from the US by the mid-1990's. Still, it's only been a few years since both have been worth buying. Both companies will possibly need decades of good press before they really start a good run.
- 1,238
- RocketPunch1221
- RRoD? no thanks.
would never consider buying a Jag or LR to begin with.
- 40,767
No, you misunderstand. When Ford bought Jaguar, they were a total pit that British Leyland tricked Ford into dramatically overpaying for. Its just that I find it funny that Ford spent billions to make Jaguar world class again, then sell it for less than what they bought it for anyways.
- 3,212
Maybe they could make Land Rovers REAL off-road vehicles, as opposed to leather-lined behemoths that will never leave tarmac. Jaguar may end up being a lower-cost alternative to prestige brands in India, and, if all goes extremely well, to the rest of the world. But that's a bit optimistic for now.
- 40,767
So, run the company completely into the ground then, yes?
- 3,212
Well, I guess like their original vehicles, if India requires reliable and rugged transportation for their population.
- 15,487
- UK
I never saw that one coming...
It will be interesting to see how this works for Jaguar and Land Rover. Don't know if it's been mentioned but Ford still have to supply engines for the next 7 years (when talking with my Dad about this, he was up at Jaguar a couple of weeks back about engine sprockets) for Jaguar and Land Rover. I will check the details again tonight, but I think I've got that right.
It will be interesting to see how this works for Jaguar and Land Rover. Don't know if it's been mentioned but Ford still have to supply engines for the next 7 years (when talking with my Dad about this, he was up at Jaguar a couple of weeks back about engine sprockets) for Jaguar and Land Rover. I will check the details again tonight, but I think I've got that right.
ExigeEvan
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You're joking right?
Even the Range Rover Sport is a fairly compitent off-roader when it isn't fitted with low profile tyres.
- 3,212
Yes, I am... sort of. I mean just making a less expensive alternative of their current vehicles (more or less) that can get India motoring. By leather-lined, I mean it in the literal sense. The people of India could actually use a vehicle of the Land Rover's dimensions and quality more than people of other countries.
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Yeah... just reduce the Defender's price to something close to reasonable... there's a good reason that it's an off-road icon.
But I digress... Land Rover's perennial problem has been build quality and perceived reliability issues... something that didn't really improve under BMW... or under Ford... if it can improve under Tata... maybe Land Rover will go somewhere...
But beyond that, what good news is there for Land Rover? The only dynamic hit they've had recently is the Range Rover Sport, and that's because Ford's suspension tuning wizards went over it with a fine-toothed comb... without that kind of input (which is also what has made Jaguar such a contender with their recent models... whether they be drop-dead gorgeous (XK) or BMW-blech (XF)) who knows what'll happen?
But you never know... Lotus's finest years as of late have been under Proton... a company only 1/100th as successful or profitable as Tata... and with the engineering know-how of... well, metaphors fail me...
But I digress... Land Rover's perennial problem has been build quality and perceived reliability issues... something that didn't really improve under BMW... or under Ford... if it can improve under Tata... maybe Land Rover will go somewhere...
But beyond that, what good news is there for Land Rover? The only dynamic hit they've had recently is the Range Rover Sport, and that's because Ford's suspension tuning wizards went over it with a fine-toothed comb... without that kind of input (which is also what has made Jaguar such a contender with their recent models... whether they be drop-dead gorgeous (XK) or BMW-blech (XF)) who knows what'll happen?
But you never know... Lotus's finest years as of late have been under Proton... a company only 1/100th as successful or profitable as Tata... and with the engineering know-how of... well, metaphors fail me...
ExigeEvan
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It's true that Defenders aren't all that cheap but its also important to realise that this hasn't stopped exporters to Africa dominating the second-hand Defender market. Perhaps Defenders will be made in India in the future.
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Jaguar (and Land Rover) were down at Ketlon (my Dads' work) today to look at the potential of using them as a supplier of sprockets for a 5L V8 (NA and Supercharged versions) and one of the Jaguar guys was saying the deal hasn't gone through as yet, end of May he reckoned for the 'real deal'.
