Tata Motors becomes new owner of Jaguar, Land Rover

02 June 2008

Tata Motors today became the new owners of the luxury car berand Jaguar and the premium SUV Land Rover, divested by Ford Motor for $2.3 billion. In a statement Ford Motor announced the completion of the sale of its Jaguar Land Rover operations to Tata Motors, as a part of its operational turnaround efforts to cut losses and return to profitability.

"This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors," Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, said in a statement. "Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects.  Land Rover will retain their distinctive identities and continue to pursue their respective business plans as before. It is our intention to work closely to support the Jaguar Land Rover team in building the success and preeminence of the two brands.''

In August 2007, the US auto maker had announced that it would explore strategic options for its premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover.

After months of protracted negotiations, between Tata Motors and Ford, the two companies announced on 26 March that they had signed a definitive agreement for Tata Motors to acquire the two automobile brands with the manufacturing facilities for $2.3 billion and contributed about $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans, as a part of the agreement wiith Tata Motors.

For Ford the sale has netted it far less that what it had paid to acquire the two brands - In 1999 Ford had bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion and a year later it paid $2.75 billion for Land Rover.

The purchase by Tata Motors includes the ownership by Jaguar and Land Rover of perpetual royalty-free licences of all necessary intellectual property rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centres in the UK, and worldwide network of national sales companies.