Tata tours its Jaguar dealers

Ratan Tata, the man and mover behind Tata motors, is doing a Meet the Parents tour with Jaguar's oldest and largest U.S. dealers. As the best businesspeople do, he is flying across the States to meet the men and women in charge of his newest brand. Incredibly, it is the first time he has ever stepped inside a Jaguar dealership.
Ratan has probably gone on the whistle-stop tour not only to get to know his dealers, but so his new partners could get a glimpse of the man they've all been wary of ever since Tata emerged as a front-running buyer for the brand. What were dealers telling him? They want they want a convertible sports car like the F-Type, a convertible XJ, and an even more upscale car to compete with Bentley.
Dealer reaction has been effusive. The head of Jaguar's dealer council -- who said India was no place for Jaguar -- reversed himself after meeting Tata, saying flat out, "I was wrong." And said Norm Aron, owner of a 55-year-old dealership in Illinois, "I'm telling you this: He's going to make something out of Jaguar. We're in good hands now." Score one for Mr. Tata, and please, Ratan, keep it up. Thanks for the tip, Mannix!

[ Via: Autoweek ]
[ Tag: dealership, dealerships, jaguar, jaguar dealers, JaguarDealers, rajan tata, RajanTata, tata, tata motors, tata-motors, TataMotors ]

Jaguar posts first sales rise in almost 2 years

For decades, Ford has carried Jaguar like an 800 lb guerrilla on the company's back. And just as Ford is able to unload the money-burning British marque, the leaping cat responds by posting its first sales increase in two years. Jaguar's April sales were up a ridiculous 69.6% in Europe, and while Automotive News somehow gives credit for this sales success to Tata Motors, it likely has a hell of a lot more to do with the all-new XF sedan. Jaguar has 18,000 customers in line for the new 4-door, which has given sales figures a big lift while helping other Jags leave the dealer lot, too. The slow-selling X-Type and the underrated XJ also got a lift from the extra showroom traffic.
At first glance, it appears Ford's luck just can't change, as Jaguar is finally looking interesting just as the Blue Oval sells it off. What's more likely is that Ford wouldn't have gotten as much cash for the leaping cat if it couldn't dangle a hot-looking sedan to potential suitors.

[ Via: Auto News ]
[ Tag: Ford,Jaguar Sales,JaguarSales,Tata Motors,TataMotors ]

Jaguar/Land Rover close to naming new CEO

Still mourning the untimely passing of CEO Geoff Polites, Jaguar and Land Rover have been managed in the interim by chief financial officer David Smith. But as the British automakers transition ownership from Ford to Indian automaker Tata, the twin companies are preparing to name a new chief executive.Since initially announcing the deal, Tata has reiterated that it wanted to retain as much of the current management as possible. However, many of the jobs that were once managed by Ford and its Premier Auto Group, under which Jaguar and Land Rover fell, will need to be filled. As a result, the automakers are reportedly recruiting externally for several senior positions. Whether Tata ultimately decides to promote from within or hire a new chief executive from outside the company remains to be seen, but an announcement is expected as early as June 2.

[ Via: Automotive News Europe ]
[ Tag: jaguar,jaguar ceo,jaguar land rover ceo,JaguarCeo,JaguarLandRoverCeo,land rover,land rover ceo,LandRover,LandRoverCeo,tata land rover jaguar,TataLandRoverJaguar ]

REPORT: Tata green-lights LRX and Jag sportscar

Tata may have spent a huge sum of money in the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premier Automotive Group, but that won't stop the Indian automaker from approving funding for new projects for its newly-acquired babies.
Among the new vehicles for which Tata has reportedly already given the green light are the Jaguar XE and Land Rover LRX. As we previously reported, the sports car known internally as the XE or F-Type will target the likes of the Porsche 911 and face competition from the upcoming Maserati sportscar in 2012 when it is anticipated to hit the market. Around the same time, Land Rover is expected to bring the LRX to market and produce the sporty ute at Land Rover's plant in Halewood, England. Despite the shift in ownership, the vehicles are tipped to still be produced in the UK, although a large government contract to supply India's armed forces with Land Rover Defenders could result in local manufacturing of that utility vehicle on the subcontinent.

[ Via: 4Car ]
[ Tag: jaguar,jaguar sportscar,jaguar xe,JaguarSportscar,JaguarXe,land rover,land rover lrx,LandRover,LandRoverLrx,tata,tata jaguar land rover,TataJaguarLandRover ]

Jaguar and Land Rover could strike a deal with Daimler

The sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata means that the two British marques will have to look elsewhere for the parts normally supplied by Ford. Following the news that Daimler could be a supplier to both automakers comes word from Dr. Z himself that a deal is a distinct possibility.
Daimler holds a seven-percent stake in Tata Motors, which could make an easy case for Mercedes to supply Jag and L.R. with the necessary components to wean them off of Ford. Dieter Zetsche told Auto Motor und Sport that, "If Ratan Tata approaches us regarding the supply of components, we would be open to talks." AMG-powered XF, anyone?

[ Via: Tata Autoblog ]
[ Tag: components,daimler,dieter zetsche,DieterZetsche,ford,jaguar,land rover,LandRover,parts,tata,tata motors,TataMotors ]

Package Deal: Tata buys 5 British marques for the price of 2

While most of the automotive press is reporting on Tata's acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premier Automotive Group, the fine print shows that the Indian automaker got a whole package of classic British marques to go along with them. In addition to Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata also acquired the rights to use the names of Rover, Daimler and Lanchester.The Rover name previously belonged to BMW, which bought the Rover group 14 years ago. Although Shanghai (SAIC) bought the rights to produce Rover products, BMW refused to license the name to them (leaving SAIC to label its cars Roewe), instead selling it to Ford who secured the name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. The Daimler name, through an age-old licensing agreement with the Mercedes parent company, is used by Jaguar for a line of even more luxurious versions of its XJ sedan range. The Lanchester name is likewise attached to Jaguar, but having produced its first motor car in 1895, has laid dormant since 1956. Although the three brands are barely in use, they transfer ownership to Tata along with Jaguar and Land Rover. The option will remain Tata's whether or not to utilize the names, but we wouldn't expect the Indian auto giant to lay out the cash to launch additional brands while it shoulders the financial burden of the $2.3 billion acquisition. We wouldn't be surprised, however, to see Tata license any of the names it can to help raise the funds.


[ Via: Automotive News Europe ]
[ Tag: daimler,jaguar land rover,JaguarLandRover,lanchester,rover,tata jaguar,tata land rover,TataJaguar,TataLandRover ]

E.U. officials clear sale of Jaguar, Land Rover to Tata

In what seems like an official bookend to the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford to Tata, the European Union, like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, has given its official seal of approval to the deal. The E.U. had received no complaints regarding the impending purchase, so approval of the $2.3 billion deal had been expected. In fact, the "simplified procedure" used by the European Commission has never ended up with anything but acceptance. No more speed bumps appear ahead of the Indian automaker, which previously had specialized in small and inexpensive vehicles. Now that these formalities are over and done with, hopefully we can simply look forward to what an injection of cash can do to the two classic British marques.


[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: european commission, european union, european-commission, european-union, EuropeanCommission, EuropeanUnion, jaguar, land rover, land-rover, LandRover, tata ]

US federal regulators clear Jag/Land Rover sale

What a world we live in when an Indian company needs US government approval to buy two British companies. No sweat off of Tata's brow, though, as federal antitrust regulators cleared the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, which Ford is selling to the Indian automaker. The transaction was reviewed by the US Federal Trade Commission to ensure no antitrust issues would arise, but the procedural review ultimately yielded no cause to block the sale. Congratulations, Tata.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: tata buy land rover jaguar,TataBuyLandRoverJaguar,us federal antitrust jaguar land rover,UsFederalAntitrustJaguarLandRover ]

Alfa to work with Jaguar on new vehicle platforms, dealerships?

Hot on the heels of the impending sale official sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata and news that Fiat is looking to start producing Alfa Romeo vehicles in the U.S. are reports that Fiat would be interested in partnering up with the new Jaguar ownership to share rear-wheel-drive platforms for their high-end Alfa models. Tata and Fiat already have close ties, as Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, is a member of Fiat's board and the two companies jointly produce engines and transmissions in India.
In addition to possible platform sharing between Jaguar and Alfa, Fiat is also interested in using the existing Jaguar and Land Rover dealer base in the U.S. as a way to ease Alfa's re-entry the American market. Anything that helps get Alfa Romeo back in the U.S. is fine by us, but there are surely issues with selling what could possibly be competing brands from the same dealer lots.

[ Via: The Financial Times ]
[ Tag: alfa romeo,alfa-romeo,AlfaRomeo,fiat,jaguar,land rover,land-rover,LandRover,ratan tata,ratan-tata,RatanTata,tata ]