Tatas launch Land Rover,Jaguar models in India

Tata Motors which opened a company-owned showroom for JLR vehicles in Mumbai on Sunday,is learnt to be pitching to sell the Defender,a vehicle from the Land Rover range,to the Indian defence. Our talks with the Indian government are at a nascent stage. There are a few Defenders with the Forces on a trial basis, said a senior official from JLR. Other JLR models used in the defence sector globally include the armoured Discovery and the armoured Range Rover.

The JLR brands will be positioned in the premium luxury car segment,which includes players like Mercedes Benz,BMW and Audi. This segment has been seeing a double digit growth over the last few years,which ranges from 18 to 25 per cent, says Abdul Majeed,an auto analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers. The high-end premium segment is around 3,000 to 5,000 cars currently in India. Tata Motors,however,has not specified how many cars they intend to sell in the JLR range in India. David Smith,chief executive officer,JLR,said,We have been successful in China and Russia. India has been a gap and we want to fill it. The company has sold around 11,000 Land Rovers and 2,000-3,000 Jaguars in China up to now. There are around 500-600 Land Rovers on Indian roads brought into the country through imports.

The company has an arrangement with Tata Capital for financing the two brands,and is also in talks with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank regarding this.

Ratan N Tata,chairman,Tata Motors,said,The two brands had been well received in India earlier,but later got disconnected. Now,we intend to extend the penetration of the two brands in the market and give Indian customers a chance to experience the brands. He added that there will be rationalisation brought in between JLR and the company,and the two can work closely on the technology front and share intellectual property rights (IPRs). There are tremendous skills and opportunities with the JLR. The two are terrific brands and we have to work at getting the R&D going to give life to new products, Tata said.

The company has already received an order for Range Rover,which it said will be delivered in mid-July. Currently,JLR products will be marketed through the dealership in Mumbai. Tata Motors is in the process of selecting franchisees for the brands,which is expected to be finalised by this year end,explained Bob Grace,director,overseas operations,Land Rover. Navnit Motors,an importer of the Land Rover,will remain as the dealer for the brands. By next year,we expect to have at least seven dealerships spanning major cities, said a senior official. Asked what the delivery time will be for the cars,Grace,said,We will have some standing stock with us. The delivery of cars can take from a few days to a couple of weeks,depending upon the demands of the customers,if they want certain customised features.

The company is also looking at enhancing its sourcing for JLR from India. We have a team working to look into expanding our vendor base. We source from India,East Europe and China, said David Smith,chief executive officer,Jaguar Land Rover. On engines,Smith said,We have long term contracts with Ford which we signed at the time of buy out. However,we will be looking at other OEMs and suppliers. He did not give more details.