Posted By Yousef
The Indian conglomerate, Tata, buys Jaguar and Land Rover.
Excerpts
“Tata, India’s biggest vehicle maker, is paying $2.3bn (£1.15bn) for the British brands after months of negotiations over price and supply relationships.”
“Jaguar has made losses ever since Ford bought it in 1989. Company sources say those losses are being trimmed with the launch of new models. But everyone at Castle Bromwich accepts that Jaguar faces intense competition from much bigger carmakers such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus.”
“Tata must “decide what Jaguar is for and what is its strategic direction in the future”, according to industry analyst Jay Nagley.”
“Since 2002, when Jaguar sold 130,000 cars, sales have halved, and the slide continues.”
“In Europe, Jaguar’s sales slumped more than 25% in February when compared with the same period last year, while in its key market, the US, sales have fallen more than 33% so far this year when compared with the same period in 2007.”
Its a shame that a great British brand such as land rover has to leave because of foreign investment – still I guess the jobs will stay here.
The Tatas are giving backward vertical integration a whole new meaning by acquiring Jaguar and in the same breath launching the world’s cheapest car – the Nano.
It feels a bit like Colette of Paris taking over Bait Awladoona and deciding to keep the same space for high end fashion as well as for bargain basement ware.
Anyway, good on them and it’s heartening to see people finally believing in the adage, ” It ain’t important where you came from; it’s where you are going that’s important.”