Ready to roar

Mumbai, March 2: Tata Motors will make British brands Jaguar and Land Rover in China and India.

The Indian owner of these luxury brands intends to set up a new Land Rover unit in Pune (Maharashtra) where it will initially make 2,000 Freelanders.

Carl-Peter Forster, the chief executive of Tata Motors, announced plans for the new plant in Pune at the Geneva Motor show. He also confirmed plans to establish a facility in China to capitalise on the growing demand there.

International reports from the Geneva Motor Show said the Pune plant would start the production of the Freelanders in the next few weeks. Later, the plant is expected to start making other marquee models in the Jaguar and Land Rover stables. The Tata Motors spokesperson, who was contacted in Geneva, refused to confirm these plans.

China and India are two of the fastest-growing automobile markets in the world, and the Jaguar Land Rover strategy is predicated on the anticipated surge in disposable incomes in both countries.

While announcing the third quarter results for the three months ended December 31, Tata Motors said it sold more luxury cars in emerging markets such as China on the back of strong economic growth, and sales from the country surged almost 50 per cent over the year-ago period.

It has been known for almost a year that Tata Motors has been mulling production facilities in China and India. Last May, Forster had said they were looking for a partner in China.

Reports said Tata Motors was talking to Hebei-based Great Wall Motor Co for a potential tie-up. Several luxury car makers such as BMW and Audi have done well in China after setting up facilities there. The setting up of units in China and India will not impact jobs in the UK, company executives said.

Jaguar Land Rover expects to hire 2,500 workers to build the new baby Range Rover and also design and engineer a new generation of Jaguars, JLR chief executive Ralph Speth said in Geneva.

“We are spending £1 billion a year in product creation and engineering and design facilities,” Speth said. “In total, we will provide 2,500 more jobs, with more to come — in fact, thousands more to come.”

It is a remarkable turnaround for a company (JLR) that was on its knees two years ago, when Tata Motors bought the ailing business from Ford. JLR is on course to make £1 billion of profit for Tata Motors this fiscal.