Tata to retain Jaguar, Land Rover image
The Economic Times — March 25, 2008

Tata Motors Ltd, India's top vehicle maker, would seek to nurture the Jaguar and Land Rover brands it was close to acquiring from Ford Motor Co, Chairman Ratan Tata said.

"These are two iconic brands ... the plan would be to retain the image and not to tamper it in any way," a spokesman said Tata had told reporters on Tuesday at the Geneva auto show, where Tata is displaying its ultra low-cost Nano car.

"(When) the deal is complete our ambition is to nurture and grow these brands through our support," the spokesman cited Tata as saying, adding he did not specify a time-frame for the deal.

Ford, in slides posted on Tuesday on its website ahead of a presentation to analysts in conjunction with the auto show, said "significant progress" had been made in the talks with Tata and that there were "no major roadblocks but still some work to do". "We are leaving Jaguar/Land Rover with a solidly profitable business," the slides said.

Ford has said it expected to close the deal to sell the brands in the current quarter. The Mint newspaper on Wednesday said the agreement was likely to be signed during the week starting March 17, citing a UK trade union official, "We have all the sourcing, pension funds and employee guarantee agreements in place," Roger Maddison, national officer for Unite, the trade union representing workers of Jaguar and Land Rover, told the paper.