Good news for JLR, they sold 314,433 vehicles this year upto the 31st March - a new sales record for the company and despite the current UK economic climate still managed to shift 60,000 vehicles (a 3.2% rise) in this country!

Apparently sales in the USA, Russia and Germany are also rising rapidly!

Nice to see a british built vehicle doing well here and overseas! (cant say a british company as it owned by india)

JLR is and always has been a British company. The fact that it is owned by a Mr Tata from India does not make it less British! If you look carefully at most British companies that are quoted you will find that they have shareholders domiciled overseas. JLR is based in Britain, makes its products in Britain and uses a large number of British suppliers. Tata ain't daft, the Britishnees of the Green Oval is a very important selling point in overseas markets.

The Chinese think theyre rubbery, and theyre are selling well there too!

Interesting question on another forum regarding JLR upturn in fortunes

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/top...y-members/

Please don't tell CG  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

Last edited by muddywheels on 3rd Jun 2012 6:37 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Link not working

Works for me but repasted  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

taztastic wrote:

Link not working

The link takes me to a page saying I don't have permission to view, maybe I am not old enough for a caravan

Sorry - it works for me but here is the question that started discussion

Quote:

Jaguar/Land Rover (JLR) is owned by Tata Motors, an Indian company who paid Ford Motor Co.
£2.3 Billion for the brands.As soon as the deal formally closed, Ford pumped a hefty $600 million back into the Jaguar and Land Rover pension funds.
Ford originally paid $2.5 billion for Jaguar in 1989, and $3.3 billion for Land Rover in 1999.
Ford pumped an average $1 billion to $1.5 billion annually into Jaguar over the 18 years they owned it. The return? Nil.
You've got the picture? Good.

The question is; Why could'nt Ford make money from JLR? They have access to the Chinese markets, they can switch assembly and engineering works between UK/European and US.plants. Ford have a reasonably good record in keeping manufacturing and engineering costs down yet they failed to make any money from these two prestige brands. Did Ford lose money investing in the 'X' type/ 'S' type and XF models and the new Discovery and Range Rover marques?

JLR-under Tata ownership-made pre-tax profits of £1.5 Billion in 2011. Tata have not imposed any restrictions on union membership or union activities, or asked their employees to accept cuts in wages and conditions. What have Tata done that Ford could not?
I'm not questioning Tata's ownwership of JLR, It is refreshing to see two iconic British brands stay in Britain under new owners and long may they prosper.
I'm puzzled.

Shame you cant see the replies  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

It was all timing. During the recession and gas crisis Ford had to sell their (non core) brands ( Austin-Martin, Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, and Land Rover) and mortgage everything they owned (including their logo) to avoid going bankrupt like all the other American car companies (GM and Chrysler). If Ford could have held on to Land Rover (Jaguar is still not making money) for another year they would have seen good return on their investment. Instead TATA is currently reaping the benefits (improved sales and reliability) with the current models developed under Ford. Ford didn't really want to sell Land Rover, Volvo, or their majority stake in Mazda but they had to. They were lucky that they found buyers for their brands unlike GM (Saab, Hummer, Saturn) who had to shut their brands down. They couldn't touch their American brands (Lincoln, Mercury) because it was cause too much protest on their home turf. Unlike their other brands Land Rover made money for most of the time Ford owned them.

Quote:

The question is; Why could'nt Ford make money from JLR? They have access to the Chinese markets, they can switch assembly and engineering works between UK/European and US.plants. Ford have a reasonably good record in keeping manufacturing and engineering costs down yet they failed to make any money from these two prestige brands. Did Ford lose money investing in the 'X' type/ 'S' type and XF models and the new Discovery and Range Rover marques?

JLR-under Tata ownership-made pre-tax profits of £1.5 Billion in 2011. Tata have not imposed any restrictions on union membership or union activities, or asked their employees to accept cuts in wages and conditions. What have Tata done that Ford could not?
I'm not questioning Tata's ownwership of JLR, It is refreshing to see two iconic British brands stay in Britain under new owners and long may they prosper.
I'm puzzled.

jutrem wrote:

They couldn't touch their American brands (Lincoln, Mercury) because it was cause too much protest on their home turf. Unlike their other brands Land Rover made money for most of the time Ford owned them.

I think you'd be surprised at our domestic auto market in some respects.

Mercury has already been shut down by Ford. And most Americans have come to consensus that Lincoln is nearly beyond repair as a brand. For many years, Lincoln sold rebadged Fords on larger platforms to people in their 70s and 80s. Most of their customers have, frankly, died at this point.

No younger customers in America buy Lincolns, and the Navigator luxury SUV has fallen to the wayside as the few people left in that market would rather have a Range Rover or Escalade.

I'm interested to see how JLR handles the upcoming Defender in the U.S. market. I think it would be a huge win for them if they targeted Jeep with this vehicle, bringing new customers to the brand who may have shied away in the past because of reliability issues and high MSRPs. Land Rover is a respected brand in the U.S., but few people buy them due to the reliability factor. They've addressed that somewhat with the LR2, but to get the general consumer to trust LR again will take some time and a few models that prove themselves against constant trips to the dealership.

The advantage LR has here is that they're known as much for being a utility brand as a luxury brand. A lower priced model wouldn't hurt "brand identity" in the same sense a cheap Mercedes or BMW might. A durable, but "spartan" Land Rover could work well here as long as it has good reliability. In some ways I ignore reliability and just buy the car I want, but I'm an anomaly in the U.S. As much as I do not like Hondas and Toyotas, they are the top sellers here for a reason. CAR HISTORY
1997 Saab 900 SE 2.0 Turbo
2003 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T
2008 Land Rover LR2 SE 2.3 I6

Ford did end up shutting down Mercury but it was still operating in 2007/2008 when the decision to sell Land Rover was made. I'm only a short drive to the U.S. border. Ford pulled Mercury out of Canada even earlier ending in 2007 but it continued selling the brand in the States until 2010/11.

Quote:

I think you'd be surprised at our domestic auto market in some respects.

Mercury has already been shut down by Ford. And most Americans have come to consensus that Lincoln is nearly beyond repair as a brand.

Fun fact is that Gerry McGovern the designer of the first Generation Land Rover Freelander, and current Land Rover Design Director was previously the Design Director for Lincoln. He took the job at Lincoln when LR were owned by Ford and jumped back to Land Rover after the sale. If the the guy responsible for putting the RR Evoque (penned by Waterman) on the road couldn't help Lincoln who can?

The 2 Door DC100 Defender would be a good North American entry vehicle. Some competition for the Jeep Wrangler.