5:07 pm, March 25, 2008
TATA is the new owner of luxury car marques Jaguar and Land Rover in a deal signed tonight. India’s biggest vehicle maker is said to have paid £1bn for the two Ford jewels.
The lengthy sales process started last June when Ford announced plans to sell the company as a package. Jaguar and Land Rover currently employ around 16,000 people in the West Midlands and Merseryside.
Tata now faces a tough task of returning the brands to profitability. Industry commentators have said that they believe Tata will commit to a five-year plan of investment.
And that’s cash the two brands really need. The new Jaguar XF model may have won praise, but the Range Rover model is in dire need of replacement soon – and these things cost money, and lots of it.
The Sun reported that Tata intends to keep the two firm’s three factories at Solihull and Halewood in full production.
The brand’s 70-year-old chairman Ratan Tata said that he was very conscious the brands ‘belong to Britain’ and that his plans wee to ‘retain the touch and feel of both companies’.
Tata unveiled the world’s cheapest car the ‘Nano’ earlier this year. The car – pictured – is due to be brought to Britain and is believed to cost under £5,000.
