Jaguar Land Rover fuelling Tata

By Alborz Fallah | August 11th, 2011

FIND DEALS

Right before the height of the first global financial crisis, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors.

The sale, which was finalised for just $2.3 billion, gave the Indian company full control of Britain’s most famous brands.

Many predicted the move would be the beginning of the end for the two English brands, but fast forward three years and the investment has been a huge success for Tata and arguably a missed opportunity for Ford.

With tough economic times hurting sales of Tato’s famous Nano, Jaguar Land Rover are now generating a massive 57 percent of Tata’s revenue. The British brands have seen their pretax profit increase 20-fold to 1.12 billion pounds ($1.76 billion) for the fiscal year.

As it stands today, Tata and its Jaguar Land Rover division is valued at over $12 billion.

It wasn’t just a matter of good fortune that the brands have become successful, in fact, Jaguar is still striving to improve with sales down 27 percent for the last quarter. Land Rover on the other hand, has seen significant growth (up 22 percent for last quarter) following strong demand for its upmarket SUVs.

The Range Rover Evoque (CarAdvice is attending the launch in Europe next week) has already seen more than 20,000 pre-orders, despite not going on sale till September.

Tata is investing a massive $2.5 billion into Jaguar Land Rover product development each year to keep the flow of new products coming. This should see Jaguar offer a significantly larger range to turn the sales slide around.

The multi-billion dollar annual investment will see the development or upgrade of 40 new vehicles across the two brands over the next five years. The two that we look forward to the most are the Jaguar C-X75 supercar and an entry-level sedan to rival the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series.

The C-X75 is meant to showcase Jaguar’s engineering prowess and build its brand credibility to compete with its German rivals. The hybrid supercar can accelerate from 0-100km/h in under three seconds and run on electric power alone for around 50km.

Do you think Jaguar will ultimately become equal with Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in its product offering and brand perception?

Sponsored Ads

FrugalOne

*****PRIMO!*****

No doubt about it, Tata nicked JLR from FOMOCO, best of luck to Rattan taking a punt on it where no one else was interested
F1MotoGP

Ford very highly paid CEO could not see what is coming and Tata did. I could do Ford CEO job for 90% less money with same or better result.
- Freddo
  
  cool storey hansel
http://tatamotornews.blogspot.com Sri Gopal

Jaguar will survive, as they are coming up with new models. Jaguar XF 2.2D is coming up in Sep’11.

Soon Jaguar will be competing with the global majors like BMW, Audi & Merc-Benz.
Gidge

For a long time Jaguar had been hamstrung by a lack of capital and some bad decisions on Ford’s part (building a 3 series compeditor on the Mondeo Platform? Seriously)

Tata were prepaired to invest in JLR and took an inteligent approach to managemnt.

BMW, Audi and MErcedies have become complacent and their cars have become soul-less while Jaguar have agressively been forging a new path. Moreover Jaguar have focused on giving their cars character and personality to take sales off their lobotomised German compeditors, which has payed off.
- Jag Enthusiast
  
  I can’t agree more…X type did nothing for the brand. It undermined 80 years of thoroughbread breeding…
  
  Great to see Jag back on track, radical improvement in quality, reliability, construction and increasing market share (albeit off a low base)…
Maple leaf

well done Tata in reviving JLR. Proof that India will be an automotive powerhouse in the next 15 years. Great achievement in capturing the crown jewels!
- AB
  
  I am still amazed that people think Tata is responsible for JLR’s current position!!!
  Does anyone on the net actually realise how long it takes to design, build and implement a new model strategy?????
  
  Lets just say an average of six years… and if you go back 6 years in JLR’s history, who owned it??? FORD
  
  I have nothing against Tata, but what they actually should be commended for is seeing a bargain and grabbing it!!!
  
  It would be great if Caradvice could provide some facts as to the history of some of JLR’s current model range… otherwise just do your own research and give credit where its due…
  - figo
    
    range rover evoque was built under tata from scratch,under ford the lrx concept came out and they had no plans to put it into production,tata gave it the green light. range rover,range rover sport,disco,freelander,jag xf ,jag xk all of these cars have been facelifted and upgraded and all this has been done under tata. although ford does deserve credit,ur being unfair to tata.
  - Bhaskar
    
    Hi AB,
    
    If this is true, rewind another 18 years. How come Ford never saw those juicy profits prior to those 6 years you mentioned.
ab

What everyone forgets, (such as ‘gidge’ above) is all of Jaguars current product range was developed, or initiated under Ford ownership. Tata are now reaping the rewards of their purchase. While there is no doubt Tata is investing heavily in future products, Jaguars current fine range is more due to Ford than it is Tata.

Fords defunct Premier Automotive Group ultimately left Jaguar, land rover and aston Martin with their best product range ever!
- Nobody
  
  Good ideas are useless, unless they are well implemented and this is something Tata is good at..The Gen 4 Land Rover engines are flawless and style is unprecedented.
- Andreas
  
  Completely agree with you, ab. People don’t realise how long it actually takes for cars to get from concept design to production.
- AB
  
  Not sure why people vote me down when I have stated FACTS.
  All info is available on the net for people to see for themselves. Just do you research.
  
  ‘Nobody’, who do you think helped develop the 3.0V6 diesel and 5.0V8 Petrol Land Rover engines. Ford of course.
ab

And don’t forget Volvo too
- Sledge
  
  Most industry watchers were amazed that Ford could fix Landrover when BMW failed, turn Aston Martin to profit and revitalize Volvo and then sell the lot just as they were getting their money back.
  
  Then the GFC and Ford avoided bankrupt status and Govt rescue(Mullaly genius?). They are now going from strength to strength but the Landrover sale must be the one that really hurts.
- http://www.nsmg.com.au Wil-son
  
  It must be a massive stab in the chest for Ford execs as Ford US is doing well and in Europe they are making an impact and also now profits. Consider the fact that they did’t take the loan GM and Chrysler did, and have done well to push ahead so they do deserve some respect from the American people. But when you see the dissolved PAG Group all doing so well they must be thinking, “what if?”.
  JLR is firing. Volvo has really started to turn the brand around along with the image problem they have had for so long. Aston Martin are really forging a good name finally after years of poor reliability.
  
  I understand they needed the cash, but I don’t understand the way of thinking, all of the PAG brands where just on the turning point in profits and growth, and then Ford practically give them away.
  
  Look at Daimler Benz with Chrysler, the new Grand Cherokee is an awsome bit of kit, they start the climb, then DB sell it. Fiat now gains from that.
  Some get it right though, BMW offloaded the Rover group for $1 but not before picking the eyes from it and keeping the “right” brands, i.e. MINI and I believe the Austin Healy name rights. The chinese are floundering with MG and Rover!! BMW were smart.
  What bothers me though is when they sell these brands, they don’t think too much of the future of the brand and how the prospective buyer will manage it. Ford were selective with JLR but when it came to Volvo, any-one seemed to be ok. I am not sure the Chinese(Geeley) will have the same skills as TATA when keeping the “new” Volvo on the same path of development.
- chook
  
  Yes AB , you are stating facts . Theres people out there who just cant cope with facts when they have their personal vendetta with ford . Lets also state to the haters the fact that Henry Ford started mass production of cars on rolling assembly lines …..its what some people hate to hear !!……so now watch me get voted down .!!
Shak

“Do you think Jaguar will ultimately become equal with Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in its product offering and brand perception?”

I’d argue that Jaguars products at the moment already equal the Germans in key areas, and in some actually surpass them. Off course their name has a very different sort of recognition because Jaguar is not as widely distributed worldwide as the Three Teutons, but once they add a couple more products to their line up, we should see the leaping Cat really come into its own as a proper premium marque!
Peter

Things should continue on the up with the 2.2 and the facelift coming out in a month or 2, I’m not surprised that people are holding off buying the volume model pending that. As well, the XF estate assembly line is being built, the XE roadster (boxter size) is due out next year, and the gossip on the Jaguar forum is that the XT compact is due out next year or 2013, apparently looking similar to the XF-C. That’d be nice if that was true.
Mr Gaspo

Can’t wait for mainstream Jags and Landies having hybrid drivetrains with micro turbine range extenders… Like the new supercar.
- Ben
  
  Unfortunately the microturbines were dropped from the supercar. Pity, they looked so cool.
  - Bhaskar
    
    Hi Ben,
    
    The era of cheap fossil fuel will be over soon. The companies that will invest and master the hybrid and unorthodox technologies wins in the long run.
  - Force-15
    
    I’ve heard that development work on the microturbines is still continuing and that they may be used in the last production (hopefully) CX-75s.
  - http://caradvice.com.au Anthony
    
    The turbine technology is currently in development. Jaguar want them as part of the package in the future.
Jacob

Nano is a failure. No other company wants to make a car so cheap.

Its just not powerful enough to go up the steep hills in India.
- Bhaskar
  
  Hi Jacob,
  
  You are wrong. Nano is a fantastic product and it is flawless for that price. The fact is people simply dont want to be seen around in a cheap car. It is something like people dont want to wear a 5 dollar watch even if the company assures good service and warranty.
  - http://www.facebook.com/priusfreezone Matthew Werner
    
    That a number of Nanos ended up in a charred state that looked like London looters had got to them also put a huge brake on sales.
BBB

Tata have realised JLR can only keep growing is by providing innovative product (i.e. rolling out Ford developed Engine & technologies).. soon this techs will run out and Jags will be back to the dark ages! Just remember this folks, Tata is company that make cars for profits and NOT passion.
- nice engine
  
  BBB.. I think you need to read “nobody’s” comments earlier. The engines a really French, with each manufacturer tweaking them to suit themselves, and JLR had to be content with the Ford spare parts bin. TATA have thrown money at JLR and said “innovate” and they are delivering.
  - AB
    
    nice engine,
    The Range Rover evoque uses Ford’s 2.0 ecoboost. The same engine (tuned to suit each use)is used in Volvo’s and Fords including our upcoming Falcon Ecoboost
- http://www.nsmg.com.au Wil-son
  
  Just because Tata are Indian doesn’t mean to say they are not passionate about cars too!! If they weren’t the Indian car market would be growing at the stagering rate to rival the Chinese growth. Tata have owned the British tea company Tetley for some years and they have improved the staid old image and introduced more styles of tea, and they are not the cheapest brand on the shelf. This is because they have a passion for the Tetley Brand.
- F1MotoGP
  
  Maybe you are right but they can employ some European engineers just like Hyundai.
http://STI THE FACT

For me i would buy a Jaguar and a Land rover rather the a BMW or Merc
Pres

Couldn’t agree more about the continual rise of JLR. I sold a 5 year old Volvo for a LR Freelander 2 diesel. Best move I ever made. Can’t fault the car and the 7 litres/100 is fantastic
AndyGF

I saw a statistic a few years back… Cost of developing a complete new car chassis in each specific country…

Germany. 600 million USD. (works by reusing the same chassis in a huge variety of platforms)
Japan. 400 million USD. (as long as people keep paying premium prices for these vehicles, that will continue)
India. 150 million USD. (now im not saying they end result can be achieved in india, but these guys can develop the existing Jag and Rover chassis’s 4 times over for the same budget as the Germans, thats a hell of a lot extra man hours they can throw in to match.)

Another thing, the Indians love bling and show! I have a few Indian friends and typically speaking, they are the best dressed out of anyone I know. They do know something about style, and have 4 times the mistakes (in budget) to sort the car out than the other manufacturers have? Good odds…