Stand by Your Brands: Tata Motors Says It's Keeping JLR Around

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Following a failed bid to secure a helping hand from the UK government, rumors arose that Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Group was considering selling its controlling stake in the British automaker.

The so-called rescue package didn’t see the light of day because the government felt Tata wasn’t exactly in dire financial straits. If it wanted to rustle up some dough, it would have to look elsewhere. On Monday, Tata made it clear: Jaguar Land Rover will not become an orphan again.

As reported by The Guardian, both JLR and Tata Steel, both grouped under the Tata corporate umbrella (and the latter the operator of a huge Welsh steel facility), sought out government funds before being rejected by Her Majesty’s Treasury on the basis of their parent’s fiscal health.

“Unconfirmed and unsubstantiated reports have been published by some media alleging that Tata Motors may sell [its] stake in Jaguar Land Rover,” the company said in a statement. “Tata Motors categorically denies and dismisses any such intent. Jaguar Land Rover is and remains a key pillar of Tata Motors and the wider Tata Group.”

JLR lost nearly 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in the first half of the year, but Tata characterizes its fiscal situation as stable. It wasn’t the only automaker to suffer from the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic; ahead of that arrival, too, the automaker had made headway in improving its profitability following an ultimatum from its parent. The pandemic means JLR’s recovery plan will have to cut deeper.

Come next month, the automaker will have a new boss in the form of former Renault top dog Thierry Bolloré.

Had JLR secured a financial lifeline from the UK, it wouldn’t have come free of strings. The government would have demanded the automaker expedite its electric vehicle program and the phase out of polluting diesel powerplants from its lineup.

[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments
Join the conversation
 5 comments
  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Aug 17, 2020

    No one wants the crown jewels of British Empire? USA -check, India - check, who is the next in the line? Australia, NZ, SA, Canada, Ireland? The funny thing would be the French takeover of the Jewels.

  • Tstag Tstag on Aug 18, 2020

    Personally speaking I think Tata have done well with JLR. However with a shrinking sedan market, autonomous cars, electrification, etc I can’t help but think that JLR need a much bigger parent to help spread some of the investment costs. If you look at Land Rover then with the exception of the Discovery, every model sells well for high profit margins. Jaguars SUVs are doing OK, as is the F Type but Sedan are the problem. Fundamentals are good but headwinds are the issue. Personally speaking I think a deal with one of the Japanese makers would work best for JLR. A company like Toyota would be a great fit and would have the headroom to give them the focus needed over a number of years.

    • See 2 previous
    • WallMeerkat WallMeerkat on Aug 19, 2020

      It has been rumoured that of the Jag sedans, the XE/XF will have a single replacement model (possibly an A5 style fastback) and the XJ is confirmed as being an EV. Discovery seems a strange oddball, and many commentators this side of the atlantic are exclaiming the new Defender as a spiritual successor to the old Disco 3/4.

  • Analoggrotto TTAC is full of drug addicts with short memories. Just beside this article is another very beautiful article about how the EV9 was internationally voted by a renowned board of automotive experts who are no doubt highly educated, wealthy and affluent; the best vehicle in entire world. That's planet earth for you numbskulls. Let me repeat: the best vehicle in the world is the Kia EV9. Voted, and sealed, and if you try to deny it Fanny Willis is ready to prosecute you; but she will send her boyfriend instead because she is busy.
  • MaintenanceCosts Our Bolt is not going away for a while but if I had to predict today what would replace it, I'd predict an EX30. It checks every box for my wife.
  • Ajla Both Biden and Trump are on record caring ~0% what the WTO says and the US government isn't bound by WTO rulings.
  • Honda1 The FJB Inflation Reduction Act will end up causing more inflation down the road, fact! Go ahead and flame me libbies, get back to me in a few years!
  • Cprescott Fisker is another brand that Heir Yutz has killed.
Next