Tatas look at manufacturing JLR models in India

Bouyed by the response, Tata Motors today said that the company was looking at synergising functions with its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar-Land Rover and indicated at setting up a manufacturing facility for the two iconic brands in India.



"We started assembling models of Land Rover here... looking at manufacturing down the road. Economies and skills of India will be available and we do have access to technology in JLR today," Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Motors, said.

When asked whether Tata Motors is looking to acquire any other global brand, he said, "We have no plan to shop around, nor do we have any specific brands that we want to acquire."

The auto major is looking at manufacturing and not just assembling Land Rovers in India. "We are in discussions with Fiat for engine supply and other joint venture possibility ahead," Tata told reporters.

Acquisition of JLR in 2008 has put Tata Motors on the map of international market, he said, adding that 50-60 per cent revenues come from outside and the company has maintained its share in the Indian market.

To a query that whether the group would be listing the JLR subsidiary separately on bourses, Tata said no and also ruled out merging JLR brand with others.

Early last year, Jaguar Land Rover, the UK-based unit of Tata Motors Ltd, opened its first assembly plant in India at Pune to assemble sports utility vehicle Land Rover's Freelander 2 from completely knocked down kits shipped from the Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK.

JLR sells imported XJ, XF and XK sedans from the Jaguar range in India and the Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover SUVs from Land Rover.



In 2008, Tata Motors had acquired Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co for $ 2.3 billion.

Later, Tata Motors had annunced that initiatives have been taken on joint development programmes for engines, vehicles and platforms, which would leverage skills of the company - Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover - resulting in synergies in operations of the company and its subsidiary.

Source: Economic Times

Jaguar Land Rover targets faster growth, lead in luxury cars in India

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) aims to grow its sales at double the pace of rivals BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi in India. The Tata-owned British car maker aims to capture 20 per cent of the luxury car market over the next few years aiming for leadership in the segments that it is present in with models such as light, more fuel-efficient Range Rover Evoque and the locally assembled Freelander 2 SUV.



“Our growth rates are twice the competition and the segments that we are in are showing good potential. We aim to be market leaders in the segment we are in with an overall market share of 20 per cent,” said Rohit Suri, head (premier car division), Tata Motors.

The luxury car market, defined as cars priced above Rs 25 lakh, has grown at almost 70-80 per cent so far this year buoyed by new models such as the BMW X1 sports activity vehicle (SAV) and a new improved Mercedes-Benz C-Class entry-level saloon. Considering around 100 per cent growth, JLR sales in India are expected to cross 1,800 units in 2011-12. JLR sales expanded 268 per cent in 2010-11 at 891 cars, compared with 242 cars it sold in its first year of operations in 2009-10. BMW is the leading luxury car maker in the country with a market share of over 30 per cent, closely followed by Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The luxury car market stood at over 16,000 units in 2010 compared with about 9,000 units in 2009. BMW India sold 7,079 cars in 2010, while Mercedes-Benz notched up 6,670 and third-ranked Audi sold 3,982 cars. Swedish automaker Volvo stood far behind with sales of a few hundred units last year.

JLR plans to assemble more models in India, apart from the Land Rover model Freelander 2 that the company said has received good response. “We are evaluating assembling more models in India including Jaguar cars,” Suri said. The Freelander 2 is being assembled in Pune, Maharashtra since May this year with a lower price tag of Rs 33.89 lakh, just above entry-level luxury sedans of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.



Evoque, launched last week at Rs 43.83 lakh, is the smallest Range Rover model, and has received orders that have surpassed the company’s initial response expectations. “It’s a challenge to supply the model as per demand. The Evoque is on a three month waiting list for both the diesel and petrol variants,” said Gurmeet Singh Anand, MD of AMP Motors that operates three JLR dealerships in India. JLR will open a new dealership in Gurgaon, an emerging corporate hub near Delhi in 2012. Anand said that the buyers for Evoque included a mix of youth, CEOs and ladies. Though JLR refused to share any sales numbers for the ongoing year, it claims to have been selling more Range Rover SUVs than Jaguar sedans.

Source: My Digital FC

Jaguar Land Rover India sales double for first half of 2011-12

Jaguar Land Rover India had sold approximately 900 units last financial year. With only half a year over, the company has sold 874 units in the first half of the financial year.

The Jaguar Land Rover has recently opened three to four dealerships and the company plans to open three more dealerships to take the total count to 14 dealers in India. JLR recently launched the gorgeous looking Range Rover Evoque in Mumbai and the company plans to multi-city launches as a brand-building activity.

Source: Car Wale

Jaguar XF facelift available for sale in India

Recently, Jaguar was offering a discount of upto Rs 5 lakhs on the Jaguar XF to clear the remaining stock of the old shape, so that the facelift XF could be bought in. (As we predicted previously)

The Jaguar XF facelift gets a new front grille and headlamps which is similar to that of the XJ L. The other major changes on the XF include the gorgeous alloy wheels and the new XK-like dials. The engine options on the XF remains unchanged as it is offered with the same naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine and the XF S still has the 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel engine. The prices of the XF have increased to about Rs 81.8lakh from Rs 78lakh and the XF S costs Rs 64.2lakh from about Rs 62lakh (all on-road Mumbai pricing).

The company has plans to introduce the inline 4-cylinder 2.2-litre diesel engine on the XF which will produce about 190bhp and will come mated to a 8-speed gearbox. This 2.2-litre engine is the same which powers the Freelander2 and the newly launched Evoque. The 2.2-litre engine comes mated to a recently developed 8-speed transmission and gets the start-stop feature on it. We aren't very sure if the new XF will get the start-stop button, but this will definitely help increase their volume sales.

Source: Car Wale

Range Rover Evoque launched in India at price of INR 44.75 Lakhs!

Tata owned Jaguar-Land Rover has just unwrapped the hotly anticipated Range Rover Evoque Crossover SUV for the Indian market, marking the SUV’s official launch in India. The Evoque will be pitted against the likes of the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5, although the Evoque’s price is significantly higher than these SUVs. The main reason for this is the fact that the Evoque will be brought into India as a completely built unit, straight from the Land Rover factory in Hailwood, UK, while both the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 are assembled in India through completely knocked down(CKD) kits.

The higher price of the Range Rover Evoque SUV though might not deter prospective buyers from buying it as the sheer presence of the Evoque due to its radical styling dwarfs both the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 quite comprehensively. The higher price will also mean that the Range Rover Evoque will be pitted against the Audi Q7, BMW X5, the Mercedes ML and the Volvo XC90. Even so, the Evoque’s imposing stance is what Jaguar-Land Rover will be banking on to bring in most of the sales even as CKD assembly of the Evoque is scheduled to happen in India, in the next 12 months or so.

Priced at a significant premium over the competition, the Evoque is Land Rover’s latest product and one which has seen extremely high demand from car markets across the world. So much so, that the Range Rover Evoque’s production is sold out for a full one year. Jaguar-Land Rover has however allotted a limited run of around 50 Evoques for the Indian market and it is from these cars that existing bookings will be serviced. Talking of which, JLR dealers in India report that the first lot has already been sold out through pre-bookings and the next lot of Range Rover Evoques will arrive only in 2012.

 The Evoque is built in two forms, three door and  five door versions, both of which will be available in India. The availability of the very sporty three door Evoque will give the SUV a significant competitive advantage  as the Evoque will be the only luxury SUV in India to be available in three door guise, thus carving out a very unique niche for itself. The three door variant of the Evoque will feature only the petrol engine while the five door version will be available with both petrol as well as diesel engine options.

Coming to the Range Rover Evoque’s engine range, the Crossover’s five door will be available with two engine options, one each in petrol and diesel fuel. The petrol engine is a 2 liter unit producing 240 Bhp of peak power and 340 Nm of peak torque.  This engine features turbocharging, direct injection and variable valve timing to ensure that it manages to stay frugal even as it delivers some blistering speed and acceleration. The diesel engine is a 2.2 Liter common rail, turbocharged unit capable of a peak power output of 190 Bhp and a peak torque output of 420 Nm.

Both engines are mated to a 6 speed automatic gearbox while full time all wheel drive is standard across the Evoque SUV range. The Evoque SUV is available in three variants each, Pure, Prestige and Dynamic, for the petrol and diesel engines. Across the variants, safety features such as ABS, airbags, ESP, TCS and automatic hill hold are available as standard. Land Rover’s much acclaimed Terrain Response system, which essentially tweaks the electronic drive gadgetry on the SUV to suit various terrains is also a part of the package.

Source: IndianCarsBikes
 

Jaguar Land Rover inaugurates new dealership in Kochi

Jaguar Land Rover inaugurates another new showroom in Kochi. This is the 13th new showroom inaugurated by JLR in India in 12 different cities. This is the first JLR dealership in Kerala and will offer the entire portfolio of JLR products.

Mr. Rohit Suri, Head of Premier Car Division, Jaguar Land Rover India, said, "The response to our products has been very encouraging across India and I am proud to be present at the opening of this dealership, which offers excellent facilities for our customers in the Kerala region".

Jaguar Land Rover opened their first Indian showroom in June 2009 and now has fully operational sales and service facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana and Kochi.

Source: Carwale
 

Freelander 2 Scooped testing; Facelift on the cards?

Jaguar-Land Rover’s least priced product in India, the Freelander2 SUV’s CKD assembly in India began a few months ago at the former Tata-Mercedes Benz plant at Chikli, off Pune. ICB managed to snag a lightly camouflaged Freelander2 on testing rounds late yesterday. While it remains to be seen what are the changes that the India assembled Freelander2 will bring to the table when it does see the next facelift, the camouflaging does point out to the fact that Jaguar-Land Rover is up to something with the Freelander2 SUV.

ICB reports that a mild mid career facelift might be what is in the offing for the Indian Land Rover Freelander2. Another story we’re hearing about is that Jaguar-Land Rover, with the help of Tata Motors and its vendors, is embarking on an aggressive cost reduction spree on the Freelander2 by increasing local content. This can ensure that Tata-JLR can take on the European competition by playing the value card, along with the snob value of the Land Rover badge. 2 wheel drive anyone? Whatever be the case, the coming months will reveal what Tata-JLR is up to with the Freelander2.

For now, here’s a brief overview of what the Freelander2 SUV is all about. The 2011 Land Rover Freelander2 SUV comes in an all diesel line up. Both the common rail, turbo diesel engines displace 2.2 liters but come with varying power outputs. The TD4 SE variant gets 150 PS while the SD4 HSE variant gets a peak power rating of 190 PS. Torque outputs though remain same for both the engine tunes at 420 Nm. The engine is mated to a six speed automatic transmission. The TD4 SE variant is priced at an ex-showroom price of around INR 36 Lakhs while the SD4 HSE variant is priced at around INR 41 Lakhs.

Source: Indian Cars Bikes

Jaguar XF and RR Evoque to be assembled in India by JLR

MUMBAI: Tata Motors-owned British marquee Jaguar Land Rover is revving up to assemble two more models in India, which will increase its competitiveness in the fast-growing domestic luxury automotive market.

JLR is looking to roll out locally-assembled Jaguar XF sedan and Range Rover Evoque SUV within 12-18 months, a vendor familiar with the matter told ET. The company's India spokesperson declined to comment.

The new offerings will beef up JLR's presence in the segment where German rivals BMW, Mercedes and Audi hold way. The company currently sells the SUV Freelander 2 assembled at its factory in Chikhale, Maharasthra while the rest of its portfolio comprises completely-built units or fully-imported vehicles.

Assembled cars attract a lower import duty of 10-30%, while imported vehicles are slapped a duty of more than 100%. JLR organised a meeting of vendors last week in Pune, the first time such a meet was held outside Britain, where 20 key vendors from India and 20-30 vendors from UK participated, along with the company's CKD head Mark Wallace, three vendors who were invited said. They added that Ian Harnett, JLR's director-purchasing said at this meet that the company will assemble more products and eye at least 20% market share in the next three years.

"JLR feels India and China will be the key growth drivers in the next five-10 years. Therefore, the company envisages a bigger assembly operation in India and joint venture partner in China to boost its overall growth," a key supplier said, requesting anonymity.



Experts say the Jaguar XF will take on the Mercedes Benz E Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6, while the Range Rover Evoque will compete with the BMW X3 in terms of price, though it is as compact as the BMW X1.

The domestic luxury car market, roughly defined as comprising vehicles priced at more than 20 lakh, is estimated to be growing at 35%-40% annually, ranking India among the fastest-growing markets in the world. It is expected to clock sales of 23,000 units this fiscal.

BMW, which overtook Mercedes Benz in 2009, dominates the segment, with Audi emerging as an aggressive third player. In 2010, BMW raced ahead with 6,246 units, while Mercedes Benz clocked sales of 5,819 units and Audi trailed with 3,003 units sold. JLR sold 891 units in 2010-11, but it aims to more than double the figure this fiscal. According to vendors, the company plans to ramp up its outlets tenfold to 100 over the next five years.

The MD and chief executive of Mercedes Benz, Peter Honegg recently named JLR as their biggest competitor in the long run. JLR will need to sell at least 3,000 units a year to break even, says Mahantesh Sabarad, auto analyst with Fortune Broking. "With the assembly of models in India, the pricing will come down and it will boost volumes. And larger the volumes, the better the profitability," he said. Though the 2 litre-2.2 litre engines fitted in the Evoque are ideal for Indian conditions, the company will have to overcome stiff competition from the German rivals to appeal to the typical Indian buyer who is aged over 40, he said.

Source: Economic Times

Jaguar Land Rover aims to double sales this year in India

Jaguar Land Rover, the U.K.-based unit of Tata Motors Ltd. (TTM), aims to more than double its vehicle sales in India this financial year as a growing number of wealthy individuals lifts demand for luxury cars and sport-utility vehicles.



Jaguar Land Rover plans to sell about 1,800 vehicles in the year through March, up from the 891 it sold last year, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Dow Jones Newswires recently.

"From April to August, the company has sold more than 650 vehicles. At this rate, the target of about 1,800 for this fiscal year should be easy to achieve," said the person, who asked not to be named.

An increase in the number of millionaires and billionaires in India is driving luxury car sales, encouraging companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Porsche AG and Audi AG to introduce more models.

India's population of high-networth individuals grew 21% in 2010 to 153,000, according to the annual World Wealth Report issued by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. The high-networth individuals were classified as those with investable assets of at least $1 million, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables.

Jaguar Land Rover, which was acquired by Tata Motors from Ford Motor Co. for $2.3 billion in 2008, now sells the XJ, XF and XK sedans from Jaguar in India. It also sells the Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover SUVs from the Land Rover brand.

Jaguar Land Rover in May opened its first assembly plant in India in the western city of Pune. The plant will initially assemble Land Rover's Freelander 2 SUV from completely-knocked down kits imported from its Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, U.K.

Tata Motors has previously said it eventually plans to assemble other Land Rover vehicles in Pune, but the person said such a move is unlikely this financial year.



After the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in 2008, sales of luxury vehicles slumped due to the global credit crunch. Sales have recovered since, turning Jaguar Land Rover into the biggest revenue and profit generator for Tata Motors.

Jaguar Land Rover sold 102,451 vehicles globally during the April-August period, up 10% from a year earlier. Sales in the past fiscal year rose 26% to 243,621 vehicles.

Jaguar Land Rover to open dealership in Pune, India

Jaguar Land Rover

Premium car brand, Jaguar Land Rover, or JLR, will open its Pune dealership by early December. The Ace Cars showroom, located close to the another luxury car brand dealership, BMW, as well as to other car showrooms in central Pune, will have the space to display around 12 cars of both brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Parvinder Singh Vijan, managing director of the Mumbai-based Asset Group which has other car dealerships in the Mumbai-Pune region and who has bagged this dealership, declined comment since he not authorised to speak about the JLR brands.

Local buyers of these premium brands said that the base level price of a Jaguar, of around Rs. 55-56 lakh, brings it within reach of a larger market and is an alternative to the Mercedes E Class or the BMW 5 Series sedan.

"There are currently about 30 Jags and around 40 Land and Range Rovers in Pune. I think with a dealership opening in the city, this number could easily double in a year's time," Aditya Deshpande, a 25-year old real estate developer, said.

The rest of Maharashtra region which the Pune dealership is expected to target is an attractive market for high end cars. Apart from industry and agriculture, politicians are seen as potential buyers specially of SUVs.
Source: Economic Times

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