Tata Motors launches Jaguar, Land Rover dealership in Hyderabad

Tata Motors' premier car division on Sunday launched its fourth Jaguar and Land Rover dealership in the country in Hyderabad in association with Inline4 Motor. The company has two outlets in Delhi and its flagship store in Mumbai for the luxury brands.

After announcing the appointment of Inline4 Motor as its dealer for Hyderabad, S Krishnan, senior vice-president (commercial), passenger car business unit, Tata Motors, said, ''As part of the phase one expansion, Hyderabad is one of the key markets identified for premium cars and SUVs. This is one more step towards tapping full potential in the identified markets.''

The luxury car market size for Hyderabad is pegged at about 500 vehicles annually. JLR will be offering its entire product range at the new outlet, which was inaugurated by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd vice-chairman T Vinayak Ravi Reddy.

According to Rohit Suri, head of the premier car division, Tata Motors, the premium market segment in India, both for assembled in India and fully imported vehicles, is at about 12,000 cars per annum and growing fast.

Tata Motors, he said, was planning to expand its network to other metros soon and match Mercedes Benz and BMW in the number of total dealerships. The rival luxury car companies have about 12 outlets in the country.

Suri said in the last one year, JLR has sold 220 Land Rovers and 80 Jaguars, and would market the brands more aggressively going forward.

Tata Motors had acquired the two iconic British brands from Ford Motor Co in March 2008 for $2.3 billion upon closing in a deal which drew much criticism at the time, as it came just before the global downturn that hit the car industry among the hardest.