Despite some financial setbacks, this will never happen.
Last month rumors surfaced that Jaguar Land Rover could be taken over by PSA – the same French group that recently acquired the bulk of GM's European operations. But the head of the British automaker says it's not for sale.
While not quite independently owned, JLR enjoys a considerable amount of autonomy under the patronage of its Indian parent Tata. And that's not about to change. "Today it's very simple. Jaguar Land Rover is not for sale," JLR CEO Dr. Ralph Speth told Auto Express. "We are owned by Tata of India. This is the way things will stay."
Both Jaguar and Land Rover have gone through several changes in ownership over their considerable histories. Both were part of British Leyland and under Ford's Premier Automotive Group, with Land Rover passing through the hands of BMW along the way. Tata acquired both marques in 2008 and effectively merged them together.
Lately JLR has fallen on hard times financially, suffering losses due to increased capital investment and the decline of diesel propulsion in Europe. But Speth says the company's rumored suitors are in no better shape, asserting that JLR could, ironically, buy PSA or Fiat Chrysler if it wanted to.
Instead, though, the British automaker is investing in its own future. It has an all-new Land Rover Defender in the works, and a slate of new electric vehicles lined up to follow the Jaguar I-Pace.
It's a particularly good time in which for Land Rover to thrive, as sport-utes (upscale ones especially) grow in popularity (and Jaguar getting in on the action). While it may not have that corner of the market all to itself as it once did, it has a much deeper well from which to draw than most any of its would-be competitors... or suitors.
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