Thread: Official - Tata chosen by Ford

It'll mean I curry more favour with my Indian friends....

Hmmm - did ya read the article /editorial in the AULRO xmas magazine ?

The guy who wrote that editorial is pretty switched on !

If they leave the brand as-is, so the luxury end that makes money continues to do so, it will be very good to get them out from under cash-strapped Ford, IMHO. However, if they mess about, start offshoring and cost-reducing stuff, it won't be. Only time will tell, I guess.

I have been reading a book that was given to me at Christmas on the history of Landrover and it makes an interesting observation...

It has generally been believed that Landrover, as an individual company, has always been profitable and it has often been referred to as the "jewel in the crown" of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. I am sure many are aware of how Landrover struggled for years and years under the oversight of firstly the cash strapped Rover car company, then the dysfunctional British Leyland conglomerate all the time having any profits siphoned off to the parent companies.

It was only after it was sold to BMW that we saw any real investment in plant and equipment as well as significant product development and expansion of the model range. But during this time and subsequently under Ford it would appear that there was less scrutiny of actual development costs. This may call into question how profitable Landrover actually is as an independant company.

Whilst the company has helped prop up parent companies over time, it has also benefitted from substantial capital investment from BMW & Ford as well as un-quantifiable benefits from access to resources from these companies in new model development. The new Defender is a case in point - how much more might it have cost to develop wihtout access to the Transit engine and other miscellaneous components in the Ford parts bin?

According to this book, we don't actually know how profitable Landrover is as an independant company because of its symbiotic relationships with its previous parent companies.

I guess Tata is about to find out - and if it is discovered that Landrover's apparent profitability is in fact an illusion, then we may rapidly see manufacturing find its way offshore to Mumbai.

I hope they keep the mid tp luxury lines as they are, but also focus on re-birthing of the Defender as an entry level 4x4 suitable for families and as a workhorse.

All good points, but you're assuming that profitability is Tata's sole motivator. Perhaps want they want is to elevate the Tata brand to another, more respectable level. Taking on the LR brand with it's history and range would help them with this.

They don't own it just yet.... they are just the preferred bidder.
thelandroverchronicles.com

"Ford is committed to focused negotiations at a more detailed level with Tata Motors concerning the potential sale of the combined Jaguar Land Rover business."

"There is still a considerable amount of work to do, and while no final decision has been made, we will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata Motors over the forthcoming weeks with a view to securing an agreement that is in the best interests of all parties concerned."

If the Indians do get it. It will be the last LR I'll ever buy!