Jaguar, Land Rover roll into India

Two of Britain's most luxurious and elegant auto brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, were launched at prices as rich as their features, although their Indian owner Tata Motors swallowed a Rs 2,500 crore loss on account of them.

Tata will sell the Jaguar, which had its origins in a motorcycle sidecar company, XF and XKR series for between Rs 63 lakh and Rs 92 lakh, while Land Rover's Discovery and Range Rover would be priced between Rs 63 lakh and Rs 89 lakh.

"It's quite a memorable day in the history and heritage of Tata Motors... JLR has been well received and well established in India (in the past), but over the years this brand has been disconnected from India," Tata group chief Ratan Tata told reporters here announcing the launch.

Tata Motors, the country's largest automobile company, suffered a net loss of Rs 2,505.25 crore in 2008-09 mainly on account of JLR that it acquired in March 2008. The expensive JLR marquee suffered on account of the economic meltdown.

"We will measure the response to the brands here and at an appropriate time, we will expand the brand to other cities, which is yet to be determined," Jaguar Managing Director Mike O' Driscoll said.

Asked how many units the company hopes to sell in India, Land Rover Managing Director Phil Popham said: "These are premium niche brands, so we are looking at relatively small numbers. Our challenge is to establish the brands here."

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