Tata Motors makes Jaguar history in UK

Tata Motors has made automotive history in Britain with the launch of Jaguar's newest model XE, an entry-level luxury saloon car, at its factory in the West Midlands region of England. The factory at Solihull has traditionally been the home of sister brand Land Rover but the first Jaguar XE saloon rolled off the all-new production facilities at the plant this week. The 500-million pounds "factory within a factory" consists of a new body shop and trim and final facilities.

The Tata Group's investment in the unit represents the largest single investment in the Solihull plant in its 70-year history. Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover's UK managing director, hopes that in its first full year the XE would double Jaguar's present annual UK sales of 18,000. "People who buy cars in this market stay very loyal. We are the new arrival in the playground and aiming to punch the three biggest kids on the nose," he said. "The XE will bring the average age of the Jaguar driver down significantly. We are accessing young professionals who have historically defaulted to the German brands because they have had nowhere else to go," he added. The XE, dubbed the 'Baby Jag' for its compact size, is not the only Jaguar that will be made at the new Solihull unit. The F-Pace, unveiled earlier this year, will also be built at the new unit from next year. 

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was acquired by Tata Motors back in 2008 and has since seen a drastic turnaround in its profits. In 2010, the Solihull plant, which started operations building aircraft engines during World War II, was in danger of closure. Since then, 1-billion pound investment into the iconic brands from Tata Motors has led it to treble production to 240,000 vehicles and double the workforce in the suburb of Birmingham to 9,000. 

The XE and F-Pace could take annual output up by a further 50 percent to 360,000, with manpower set to peak at 10,500. JLR purchasing director Ian Harnett said: "Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK's success stories, not simply because it has seen an upsurge in demand thanks to sustained investment, but because it has been able to support a burgeoning, high-tech, highly skilled supply base here in the UK. "With each successive new or upgraded model, we are seeing the positive impact felt amongst the entire automotive sector which is great news for everyone committed to ensuring the UK remains truly competitive on a global stage.

Tata Motors stock price On April 16, 2015, at 14:57 hrs Tata Motors was quoting at Rs 538.45, down Rs 1.85, or 0.34 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 612.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 400.51. The latest book value of the company is Rs 78.55 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 6.85.

Top 20 Selling Cars In India

Top 20 Selling Cars In India In December 2014

A quick look at the top 20 selling cars in India in December 2014, showing the trend in the Indian automobile market with Maruti Suzuki continuing to lead.

The year 2014 saw a slew of car launches happening in India. From cheap hatchbacks to expensive luxo-barges, we saw everything hitting the market. The industry has seen a lot of ups and downs in the past few years and this year we have finally witnessed some stability in terms of sales. 2014 saw a small growth of 3-4% in sales for the overall market as compared to the previous year. The government has now cut the concessions that it provided in excise duty and from 1st January 2015 every car manufacturer has been hiking prices. Let us have a look at the top 20 selling cars in India in December 2014.

The top 20 is dominated by Maruti Suzuki whose mass-market hatchbacks have been selling like crazy. It is surprising to see outdated vehicles like Omni and Eeco too in the top 20 list every month and also surprising that India’s largest car manufacturer continues selling these vehicles inspite of knowing that they come with zero safety. The Mahindra Bolero has been a steady performer as always and it continues selling in huge numbers, most of which come from rural areas and commercial sales.

The Honda City overtakes all its rivals like the Hyundai Verna and the newly-launched Maruti Ciaz. The Swift too has climbed ahead of the DZire this time. The Maruti Ertiga is marginally ahead of the Toyota Innova this month. We also see consistent performers like the Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport not in the list this time. The Hyundai i10 gets decent numbers while its newer siblings, the Grand i10 and Elite i20 are selling like hot cakes. The Mahindra Scorpio too has turned out to be a very good performer.