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Paul Noronha

Mr Ravi Kant (right), Managing Director, Tata Motors, and Mr C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Friday. —

Our Bureau

Mumbai, Oct. 31 Tata Motors is in an advanced stage of discussion with an independent vehicle finance company to finance sales of Jaguar and Land Rover in the US. The agreement is expected to come into effect in November.

Tata Motors acquired the British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company in March for $2.3 billion.

The arrangement with Ford Motor Credit Company, the vehicle financing arm of Ford Motor, to finance retail sales of Jaguar and Land Rover in Europe, will come to an end in a year’s time.

Mr C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors, said the company had tied-up with Fiat Auto Financial Services, the vehicle financing arm of Italy-based Fiat SpA, which is operating under a joint venture with Tata Motors in India.

Jaguar and Land Rover sales have declined 11 per cent to 61,000 units in the July to September period, said Mr Ramakrishnan, while making a presentation on the company’s performance during the last quarter.

Jaguar’s sales have gone up to 17,500 units in the three-month period against 14,900 units during the year-ago period on the back of Jaguar XF launch. The order book position of the new model is strong, said Mr Ramakrishnan.

However, Land Rover sales declined to 43,886 units during the June-September period from 54,264 units during the year-ago period. He said that sales in emerging markets such as Russia and China are growing. Russia is the third largest market for Jaguar and Land Rover while China is the fifth largest.

The financial performance during the June-September quarter is not available. The financial performance of the Jaguar and Land Rover business will be integrated with Tata Motors’ accounts from the next financial year.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Channels and Franchises | Cars | Tata Motors Ltd

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