The Hindu Business Line : ‘Jaguar-Land Rover buy is a long-term strategic decision’

Bangkok, March 27 Tata Motors on Thursday said that the acquisition of British marque, Jaguar and Land Rover, is a long-term strategic decision. The company is fully aware of what it is buying into and the price it is paying for it.

Tata Motors successfully concluded a $2.3-billion deal to acquire the two brands from Ford Motor Company on Wednesday.

“We have seen the business plan for the next five years and bought into it. These are exciting times with a number of new products lined up for launch under the Jaguar marque. The company has a good product line and a good (product) cycle plan and should do well,” Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director, Tata Motors, told a crowded press conference that included a group of journalists from India. The journalists are here at the invitation of the company to witness the launch of its pick-up truck, Xenon, at the Bangkok Motor Show.

Mr Ravi Kant said that while Jaguar’s XK model was successful, the new, yet-to-be-introduced XF had received rave reviews at auto shows and in auto magazines and had already attracted bookings in excess of 15,000 units.

Asked whether the company had paid a high price to acquire a brand (Jaguar) that was not making money, Mr Ravi Kant said: “We are buying one company with two brands — Jaguar and Land Rover. The financial statements are consolidated and it is not loss-making. We believe strongly that it is a good price we have settled at.”

He pointed out that such deals are decided not based on the “next three-four quarters but on the next three-four decades”. Mr Ravi Kant also disagreed with the view that the deal timing was bad given the slowdown in the US auto market, which Jaguar and Land Rover primarily target. “We are long-term players and given our 60-year history know what business cycles are all about. It is possible to offset the negatives of one geography with the positives of another. We are fully aware and conscious of the risks and think it is a good decision we have taken.”

future management

Addressing the concern of a British journalist on future management of Jaguar-Land Rover, Mr Ravi Kant said that the two iconic brands will remain so and will be given “full freedom and allowed to strengthen their personality, whatever it takes”.