February25
Word comes from Europe that Tata Motors will officially announce its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford on March 5 or 6. We’ve been following the matter closely, and it appears that the deal is closed as far as the executives at the two automotive companies are concerned. The final step involved Tata accepting Ford UK union Unite’s guarantees for its workers.
“Everything seems fine as far as we are concerned; it’s just the lawyers working on it now,” said Roger Maddison, Unite’s national officer, in an Automotive News Europe interview. Maddison was part of talks between the union leaders and Ford and Tata to finalize details of the sale and draw up a memorandum of understanding.
Earlier on in the negotiation process, unions wanted to ensure Tata would continue to source engines, stampings and other systems from Ford’s Bridgend and Dagenham plants in the UK, which supply all of Jaguar and Land Rover engines and many of Land Rover’s stampings.
The announcement isnÃt likely to happen at the Geneva Auto Show, scheduled to start at the beginning of March, as Ford does not wish to take any spotlight away from its launch of the new Ford Fiesta subcompact and would not comment on any specific dates. Insiders are saying the March dates are “not too far off track,” according to Automotive News Europe.
I agreed with PhallusMan on this one. LR and Jag are done. They’ve lived off Ford’s life support for too long.
But VW wouldn’t have much to give them. Jag would play second fiddle to Audi. LR doesn’t fit with VW’s products.
Tata has absolutely nothing to give LR or Jag. Ford had reliable engines and parts to offer as well as a marketing budget to use to advertise the product. Especially with LR, Ford has expertise selling durable truck-type vehicles. I imagine Ford would have kept LR if possible, but then they’d never unload Jag.
Tata will use these brands to prop up its own products rather than improve upon them as Ford did. They’ll drag them down in the process. I’m sure they’ll try to copycat the Ford-sourced motors as well.
It’s over for all British brands. It’s final, Brits think thay can live in the old shadows of the pass. Name does,t sell anymore in auto. It’s performance and quality. Good for Ford, now they can sepend more time managing their local brands. I know that they will not let go off Mazda but I hope they hang on to Volvo. Their is much more potential for that brand.
The Sale of Land Rover and Jag is going to Help Ford tremendously as long as they don’t go out and start buying up other companies again like trinkets and then not knowing what to do with them once aquired. Ford focus on your core.
Would anyone like some curry in their tea? Anyone?
I’ll still get the XF, if its reliability is improved over the S-Type.
Veda, nothing will be improved in the short run. Put yourself in place of people working at those factories. They don’t know when next check will come or will it come at all. Have you heard of outsourcing? I am sure they did as well and it is with products and services which are not purchased outright to make a profit. Just think how profit can be made? When morale goes down, guess what happens to productivity and quality.
…and again autonut has described in a far more diplomatic fashion the sentiment that certain Canadians would have had difficulty expressing without resorting to somewhat less political discretion.
I have a Land Rover LR3 now. I love the vehicle. I’ll wait and see before passing judgement against Tata, but I think it’s a bad move. It is the ultimate sign that British brands have lost all status.
I think Ford kind of integrated LR Jag into PAG. Both the brands after burning millions of dolllars integrating themselves with Ford, Lincoln!, Volvo etc ended up in no mans land. A little confused… answering questions nobody asked. The much loved F-Type apparently was rejected by Dearbown on flimsy reasons! Good that its is ending…
Under Tata oooh… they won’t get technology… They will get a little cash (perhaps better than Ford which is getting rolled by Ford Europe!) Tata does not have the long history of Ford. But Tata just might offer Jaguar something which nobody offered and that which Jaguar badly needs…
Free and independent functioning!
Goodbye Jag
I weep at this news.
“Tata” sounds so much like Hooters.
Big breasts and fancy cars…what a life.