More than a year after Tata Motors took control of two of UK's most iconic luxury marques - Jaguar and Land Rover - the company has finally chalked out plans for launching these cars in India.

Jaguar Land Rover on Friday reached an agreement with Tata Motors to begin selling its range of premium performance saloon cars, including Jaguar's XF and XKR and Land Rover's sports utility vehicles Discovery and Range Rover, in the Indian market later this year.

Tata Motors will be the exclusive importer for the two brands. Its newly-formed premier car division will operate under the passenger car business unit of Tata Motors and will assume responsibility for the cars. The unit will be headed by Rohit Suri.

David Smith, chief executive officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said in a statement, "We are delighted to be formally entering  the Indian market, an economy which is still growing appreciably, and able to offer our premium products to a whole new group of customers. It is an important strategic move for Jaguar Land Rover and will enable us to realise our competitive potential in this significant market."

The move may seem strange to some, considering that Tata Motors is seeking massive UK funds to sustain its purchase of the two companies. But, in this respect, it is no different from the rest of the luxury and executive car industry – it is suffering from the credit crunch squeezing potential buyers.

A particular problem for Jaguar, however, is bad timing. The cars it has been designing and building over the past few years are all capable of meeting or outdoing rival products, and the launch early last year of the XF saw total Jaguar sales up nearly 9 per cent for 2008. But this upturn followed years of heavy losses and arrived just as the market crashed.

Jaguar's first showroom will open at Ceejay House in Worli, Mumbai by June this year. It will offer a range of both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. The company aims to further develop the dealer network by 2009 and 2010.

"This is a natural move for both businesses and will allow Jaguar and Land Rover to establish a strong and deserved presence in India. We are very pleased to develop our relationship with Jaguar Land Rover in this way and to provide the opportunity for Indian customers to access their premium products for the first time," said Ravi Kant, managing director, Tata Motors.

In March last year, Tata Motors bought JLR from Ford Motor Co, at a knock-down price of $2.3 billion, which was less than half the price paid by Ford to acquire the two brands. The British company is now owned by Tata Motors, which plans to import the cars and then sell them using its own dealership network.

The vehicles slated for sale in India include the Jaguar XF and XK as well as Land Rover's Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover. Jaguar Land Rover says this is a strategic move to capitalise on India's "rapidly expanding market."

The JLR range is priced in the range of £21,000 and £78,000 in the UK. Along with the 103 per cent import duty, the landed cost would range from Rs31 lakh to Rs1.16 crore. The entry of JLR models would cause some ripples in the luxury segment of the car industry, which is currently dominated by BMW with Mercedes Benz a close second.

Audi, the number three in the Indian luxury car market, sells its cars in the range of Rs29 lakh and Rs1 crore; while Mercedes Benz sells its cars between Rs29 lakh and Rs83 lakh. BMW models cost from Rs26 lakh to Rs1.24 crore.

The first JLR showroom at Ceejay House in Worli, Mumbai, will open in June.