Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Ford sells Jaguar/Land Rover to India's Tata
Source: Automakers ink $2 billion deal for British luxury-car builders
Reuters
updated 12:34 p.m. PT, Tues., March. 25, 2008

LONDON - U.S. automaker Ford has agreed to sell its luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for more than $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Ford, which signed the deal on Tuesday, plans to publicly announce the transaction in New York at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, said another source.

The deal will also see Ford pay about 300 million pounds ($598 million) into Jaguar and Land Rovers' pension funds, according to unions.

Ford declined to comment, adding "our first responsibility is to communicate with our employees."

The sale had been expected at the start of this month, but it was delayed as the two firms discussed their future relationship, including technology sharing and Ford's provision of engines and body parts for the two brands.

Tata, India's top vehicle maker, has been in talks with Ford since it was chosen as the frontrunner to buy Jaguar and Land Rover a few days into 2008.

Tata is pursuing the deal to gain a substantial foothold outside India.

But analysts have questioned how Tata will incorporate the luxury brands into its stable of sturdy trucks and functional passenger cars, including the Nano, the world's cheapest car which it unveiled in January.

While Land Rover has generated three years of record sales with its iconic SUVs, the fit of Jaguar is far less clear.

Ford, which lost $2.7 billion in 2007 and $12.6 billion in 2006, is spinning off Jaguar and Land Rover to focus on turning around its loss-making operations in North America.

The sale will include a commitment by Tata to continue buying engines from Ford, according to unions.

All Jaguar and Land Rover's petrol engines are built in a Ford plant in South Wales, supporting hundreds of jobs there. Diesel engines come from Ford's factory in Dagenham, east London.

One of the sources knocked down reports on Indian television earlier on Tuesday that the deal had been closed for $2.65 billion.

"That figure of $2.65 billion is highly unlikely," one source close to the deal said of the report on news channel NDTV Profit. "You have to come south from that by quite a bit."

Ahead of the TV report, shares in Tata Motors rose 2.7 percent to a three-week closing high of 679.95 rupees, in a Mumbai market that surged 6.1 percent.

climacus

This reminds me of the Japanese buying Universal studio back in the '80s with silly bubble money. If Ford couldn't turn Jaguar around, Tata hasn't got a hell of a chance.

delhi

Now Jaguar and Land Rover owners will have 24hr roadside assistance.

Mech_head

I think this is a good thing for Ford. They need to focus on their bread and butter right now and not some failing brands. Ford has had to dump BUCKETS of money into Jag and has got nothing back in return. Land Rover has done better but not much.

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

I think it is quite ironic that an Indian car company named Tata has bought “England's” pride and joy there is a certain sense of karma to the whole thing.

Makes things clearer for Ford, however I am skeptical about any positive implications for either of the two "British" firms.

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

btw, whoever pushed/ran the X type (MONDEO) project should be immediately hired by Tata

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

They're buying the brand, and when they buy the spinoffs they also have access to certain patents that it will take them years of research before they can even get *close*

Its a Win win for both companies, But what Im thinking is that tata's car is like garbage when u compare them to the rest of the world, hell even Mainland China made cars are far better than Tata.

Watch in the end, Tata will sell the thing back out to someone else for 1/2 the price.

Clavius

Was curious when something like this will happen. One of the two supposed up and coming "economic powers" buying a huge name brand to up one of the companies reputation. Just really surprised it was India not a Chinese firm.

Though I now feel sorry for any LandRover/Jag owners if this deal goes through... roadside assist calls will be yeah.. 'nuff said haha.

Razz1

Someone had to buy them.

Now the car wars begin.

India vs China vs Korea.

Clavius

Yes... which one can make the best death trap!! Wait.. Korea is out heard Kia's quality is slowly going up.. damnit. So its now Tata vs. Cheri

ShAdOwFoX

lol i still find this story funny. I can't imagine India selling such an expensive brand. Imagine their new slogan: Jaguar........providing the best service with the worst accents

sosonic

Yes, I find this amusing too.

However, what Tata is going to do with Jaguar remains to be seen. Nobody is expecting much though. There is a lot more than just nuts and bolts when selling a luxury car. Part of "it" is "image" and I don't know how Tata is going to pull that off.

With the Land Rover, they at least got a shot of actually making some money off of it.

As for Ford, they need to make cars people like looking at, are fun to drive, and don't break down. That Ford can pull that off in a profitable manner remains to be seen too.

Clavius

^Hey Zoom posted that their new CEO of Ford might possibly be one of three people.. two of them used to run Mazda. One who was there and helped turn it around to what it is today, and the other who kept it on track. So I'm holding out hope we might see a Vroom-Vroom era at Ford (sorry Zoom-Zoom is Mazda.. Ford can use Vroom-Vroom lmfao!).

Hmm maybe Tata will try to redo some Jag's so they dont look like re-sheetmetaled Taurus's?!

DailyDriver2k5

Oh my.... This is not good news at all......
Jaguar and Land Rover will definitelly Fail ! Tata may be the best selling brand in India, but the name brand falls on deaf ears once it crosses that countries borders. Tata is known for there micro cars, how in the hell will they be able to manage and produce Luxury vehicles when it probally takes(estimating) 5 of there top of the line micro cars to equal a entry level Jaguar? I see doom in the future for these iconic brands. Not to mention the reliability and quality will go down. But like somebody said, you will have great 24 hour on call road side assistance! LOL!