Tata

Strange how time gets away from us. I thought we had featured Jaguar Cars recently in our Video of the Week (VotW) series, but on looking back that proved not to be the case. I had to go way back into 2015 to find such a video. How could this be? So let us reconcile that now with a video with is a short history of Jaguar Cars. Of course nothing less that a full television series could possibly do the span of years of Jaguar justice, but this video does present a good overview of the highlights. https://youtu.be/4EpYshbd7A4 As most good British car buffs know, Jaguar as we know it was originally founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922. They originally made motorcycle sidecars before developing bodies for passenger cars. Under the ownership of Swallow Sidecar (S.S.) gave […]

An old friend always used to say that “Jeeps are famous, but Land Rovers are legendary.” I know some Jeep fanatics who might disagree with that, but many of us have been fond of the Land Rover, and its entire family tree, for many years. Our video this week looks back over Land Rover’s history through the eyes of some of the men who were there. This is the story of Land Rover – from its inception as a way to save the Rover company to its becoming the SUV of choice for the landed gentry. The design for the original Land Rover vehicle was started in 1947 by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used […]

Jaguar is invoking its iconic E-Type roadster to challenge Mercedes and Porsche with its first two- seat sports car in almost four decades. The F-Type, due to be unveiled in September and go on sale as soon as next April, will be Jaguar’s smallest auto in more than a half-century as the marque seeks a return to its sporting tradition following decades spent focusing on luxury sedans. What’s more, it has been confirmed that the roadster will be built on English soil in Birmingham. “If the product can do what the original E-Type did for Jaguar, it will be a huge boost,” said Peter Schmidt, managing director of Warwick, England-based Automotive Industry Data. “What they’re doing is laudable, it’s good for the brand and it’s good for the image. But nobody should expect miracles.” The E-Type, introduced at the 1961 Geneva […]

The curse of the British tea break strikes again. Just as BMW announces record sales, its Mini factory in Oxford is threatened by a first strike since 1984 over alleged incursions into workers’ break times. The renaissance of volume British car making is well known. Likewise that of America’s car giants Ford and General Motors. The reasons for the two countries’ re-emergence as global automobile powers are different but, one way or another, they have dealt with their common problems of structural decline in the face of fierce overseas competition. BMW’s experience in the UK captures much of why we are once again a leading exporter of cars – and the risks of losing that status. First the UK has great car brands – Mini and Rolls-Royce owned by BMW, MG Rover by the Chinese SAIC, Jaguar Land Rover owned by […]

The company, which only two years ago attempted to seek Government support as global car sales collapsed, said pre-tax profits rose from £15m last year to £1.1bn in the year to March 31. The increase has been driven by a huge rise in Jaguar and Land Rover sales in China and emerging markets, where the middle classes see the British cars as a status symbol. JLR sales rose 51pc in the year from £6.6bn to £9.9bn, which was also aided by new models such as the Jaguar XJ and favourable foreign exchange rates. “Jaguar Land Rover is now a strong, profitable and innovative competitor in the premium car industry,” said Carl-Peter Forster, chief executive of JLR’s parent company Tata Motors. Indian company Tata bought JLR from Ford in 2008, but initially suffered heavy losses as the recessions struck. Read the […]

Land Rovers began rolling off the assembly line Friday at the British brand’s first plant in India since it was bought by the Indian car giant Tata Motors. Parts are still being manufactured at Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Liverpool, England, but Land Rover Freelander 2 SUV’s are now being built in the western Indian city of Pune. India offers Jaguar great opportunities to build cars for less, Carl-Peter Forster, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Motors, told reporters. “Clearly, India can be a very attractive sourcing base, an opportunity to source increasingly high quality but lower cost components not only for India operations but for overseas operations,” he said. Forster has already indicated that Indian engineering will also play a role in the design of Jaguar Land Rover engines. Tata bought Jaguar from Ford in 2008 for […]

There was a lot of eye rolling and worried looks when Ford sold Jaguar to India’s Tata. But based on the latest December figures, maybe there wasn’t reason to worry. Jaguar sold 1,246 cars in December in the U.S., a 24% increase from last year. Land Rover sold 3,595 of its rugged SUVs, a 37% boost from a year ago. For the full year, combined sales of both brands dipped 14%, not bad considering how the overall auto industry saw sales plunge even more. Needless to say, execs are happy: “Three consecutive months of Jaguar and Land Rover growth is a great way to end 2009, and a sign of better times to come,” said Jaguar-Land Rover North America President Gary Temple. “We start 2010 with sales momentum, strong product lineups for both brands, and the launch of the 2011 […]

Executives at Jaguar Land Rover, the Midlands carmaker, are drawing up plans for an extended shutdown of its UK plants and a new round of staff layoffs as it struggles to cope with the slump in the world car market. Preparation for the closures comes just days after the company released its new flagship, the latest version of the Jaguar XJ beloved by prime ministers and top British executives.

Jaguar has emerged from its stuffy, country-club period, the one that saw it essentially remake over and over and over again the original XJ for 41 years. Jaguar now wants to be sexy and modern. Founder Sir William Lyons would most certainly approve. He was never a man to look backwards, to live in yesterday, endlessly reliving the great triumphs of the past. He was a forward-looking, innovative fellow. His cars of the 1950s and into the 1960s were cutting-edge and daring for their time. That’s what Jaguar is trying to recapture. “It’s about making Jaguars that are quintessentially Jaguars,” O’Driscoll said. But this is a nervous business. Jaguar, now part of Tata’s integrated Jaguar Land Rover Group (JLR), is not swimming in dough. Far from it. Tata Motors’ Indian business, which relies mostly on truck sales, made a profit […]

Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is cutting 450 staff. […]

Jaguar Land Rover’s importance to the West Midlands has been spelled out as business minister Lord Mandelson considers a rescue package for the embattled UK car industry. The Indian-owned company is critical for the future of the region, according to Mick Laverty, chief executive of development agency Advantage West Midlands. And JLR chief executive David Smith urged the government to support the industry’s “jewel in the crown” with funds to help it to survive the recession and credit crisis. Mr Laverty and Mr Smith were speaking at a round table meeting held at a Birmingham restaurant that was hosted by government manufacturing adviser Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, head of the Warwick Manufacturing Group. He claimed that JLR would have “gone into thin air” in the present crisis had Ford sold it to private equity interests instead of Tata Motors of […]

Might the mighty Jaguar, once a consistent winner on the LeMans circuit be considering a return to the competition? According to Autoweek, Jaguar is doing just that – considering a return to LeMans. Supposedly the new Indian parent company, Tata Motors, is evaluating a high-profile motorsports comeback. “We want to hit the Le Mans race [because] we are examining how to bring the Jaguar brand back to its earlier position,” Tata chairman Ratan Tata told Indian media.

DEARBORN, Mich., April 20, 2008 – Geoff Polites, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover, has died peacefully in his home country of Australia. He was 60. Mr. Polites, who is credited with leading the team that returned the Jaguar Land Rover business back to profitability and successfully steering it through its ongoing sale process to Tata Motors, had been battling serious illness for the past two years. “Geoff’s untimely passing robs his family and friends of a man who was a real inspiration to us all,” said Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company. “His drive and determination, combined with his clear sense of vision for the business, played a huge role in turning round the business at Jaguar Land Rover and returning it to profitability. Geoff ensured that Jaguar Land Rover was not distracted and […]

Car giant Ford has sold its luxury UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian company Tata. Tata, India’s biggest vehicle maker, is paying $2.3bn for the British brands after months of negotiations over price and supply relationships. The irony of one time colonies buying and selling the automotive crown jewels Britain has not gone un-noticed. The negotiations started last June when Ford announced its intention to sell the companies as a package. Jaguar and Land Rover employ about 16,000 staff at UK plants in the West Midlands and Merseyside. Although Land Rover remains profitable, Ford has never managed to make money from its investment in Jaguar. Ford has been forced to sell the two companies in order to concentrate on its loss-making core US car business, which it hopes to turn around in the next two years. It […]

Ford is on the verge of selling Jaguar to Indian company Tata after failing to see a return on its investment after nearly 20 years. What caused the British luxury car maker’s decline? When the Ford Motor Company acquired Jaguar in 1989, the American giant was aiming for a slice of the lucrative European luxury-car business – with ambitions to snatch sales from the dominant Germans. Nearly 20 years later, however, Jaguar has yet to post a profit, its sales continue to shrink, and the British brand is about to be offloaded to giant Indian company Tata.

The long-shelved Jaguar F-Type sports car, which debuted at the 2000 North American International Auto Show, appears to have secured the backing of Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata, whose company is expected to take ownership of Jaguar and Land Rover within the next two weeks. Speaking to journalists at the Geneva motor show on Tuesday, Tata said of the two-seater, “I’d be delighted if we have one in the range.” Smiling to journalists as he was questioned about the car, Tata said, “I do have a strong view about it,” leaving listeners without doubt that he has interest in getting the F-Type into production.

Tata Motors will announce its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover on March 5 or 6. The dates have been agreed between Tata and Ford Motor Co., which is selling the two luxury brands, following talks with union leaders last week. Roger Maddison, national officer of Unite, the largest union in the UK auto industry, told Automotive News Europe that Tata had agreed to meet guarantees sought by union leaders. He said, “Everything seems fine as far as we are concerned; it’s just the lawyers working on it now.” Union leaders spoke with Ford and Tata to resolve final details before the drawing up of a memorandum of understanding for the sale.

Ford Motor has no plans to keep a stake in its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands, an industry source told Automotive News Europe. Ford earlier this month picked Tata Motors as the front-runner to the purchase of the two brands. It had been thought that Ford would wish to keep a stake in Jaguar-Land Rover to protect its supply contracts for components such as engines. “There is no need for it,” the source said. “Ford really wants to concentrate on its North American operations, that is the whole reason why it is selling Jaguar and Land Rover.” Retaining a stake, however small, would only divert management time from the North American turnaround plan, the source said. By John Revill, Automotive News, Europe