Bulking up ahead of a new brand launch?
It appears that Jaguar-Land Rover, the British automotive luxury powerhouse, is on the hunt to pick up a new luxury car marque that will help it push its ambitions forwards. Those in the know say that JLR parent company Tata Motors is considering funnelling the required financial resources to make the potential acquisition come to fruition.
Reports from Bloomberg suggest that company insiders are weighing their options, with an acquisition looking promising, as JLR seeks to boost its electrification efforts, as well as its push for autonomous-driving capabilities. Widening their scope, JLR may also consider purchasing a technology company that could push this forwards, a source said.
As it is, Tata Motors (a subsidiary of the wide-reaching Tata Group, and parent company of Jaguar-Land Rover) reaps 78% of its revenue from its luxury division, with the company bringing back some US$6.1-billion by the end of June, representing a considerable 87% increase over the previous year. Finance boss at Tata Motors, C. Ramakrishnan, said that the company will use its position as the second-biggest gainer in the last year to bring more products into its portfolio, boost its technology assets, and increase its manufacturing capacity.
To that end, it’s said that Tata Group has communicated to JLR management that they want the British company to grow in size to stay relevant and competitive, and are willing to provide the financial backing necessary to make that happen. If an acquisition does come through, it’ll be the first purchase by JLR since Tata’s takeover in 2008, when it bought the marques from then-tanking American manufacturer Ford for some US$2.4-billion.
It appears to be the season of takeovers and partnerships, with companies like FCA looking for suitors, PROTON and Lotus getting hitched with Geely, and Volkswagen considering the sale of non-core assets like Ducati.
While JLR weighs its options, it seems that luxury off-road specialists Land Rover are looking to bring back the ‘Road Rover’ name for a range of electrified road-focused vehicles within the same vein as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The Road Rover will first debut a car in 2019 that will rival the best limousines out there, packing impressive on-road agility along with a degree of all-terrain capability, or that’s what Autocar suggests.
Power will come exclusively from electric motors, and the cabin will be outfitted to deliver incredible degrees of luxury and opulence, the way any limousine should. There are questions surrounding the need for the Road Rover brand altogether, given the enormous clout that the Range Rover brand already enjoys.
However, the uncompromising off-road ability that comes part-and-parcel with every Range Rover presents immense technical hurdles if they were to offer that degree of ability with a fully-electric powertrain, hence a separate brand that doesn’t have to adhere to those values.
If viewed exclusively, it makes sense for Land Rover to explore the opportunities in making road-going, electrified motorcars that can service a portion of the market that a traditional Land Rover simply doesn’t have much appeal in. Hang on, isn't that what Jaguar is for?
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