Jaguar Land Rover parent company Tata Motors says it plans to double its annual investment in the British unit. The announcement comes just days after it was revealed that the Jaguar Land Rover division propped up Tata’s profits during the most recent quarter.
“Over the past five to six years, Jaguar Land Rover has spent around 700 to 800 million pounds annually on capital expenditure and product development. Going forward, we will double that,” C.R. Ramakrishnan, Tata’s chief financial officer, told Reuters.
Ramakrishnan added: “Jaguar Land Rover spending will be in the order of 1.5 billion pounds each year.”
Tata recently announced that its Jaguar Land Rover division contributed 95 percent of the company’s total profits for the quarter that ended in December. Moreover, Jaguar Land Rover’s profit margin was 20 percent, or roughly three-times better than Tata’s profit margins in its home country.
Jaguar Land Rover’s sales in Russia and China continue to fuel profits, and Land Rover’s new Evoque compact SUV remains in hot demand.
Ramakrishnan says a China joint venture for Jaguar Land Rover will be announced “very soon”, which will allow the unit better access to the world’s largest auto market.
