Jaguar and Land Rover pose a number of problems for Tata

Posted Mon Mar 31 2008 8:07 AM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

While Jaguar and Land Rover will be getting a much-needed resuscitation from Tata and its deep pockets, stricter emissions and fuel-economy regulations set to roll in over the next decade as well as continual reliability and quality issues are likely to prove to be problematic for the new Indian parent. Land Rover doesn’t have a single model that comes near the EU's proposed 120g/km CO2 fleet average emissions rating, let alone an entire fleet averaging this, while Jaguar’s emissions levels are only marginally better.

This means Tata will have to inject a lot more cash into Land Rover and Jaguar (even after its $2.3 billion dollar deal with Ford) to keep them in line with the new standards. Jaguar and Land Rover combined have earmarked more than $1.4 billion for investment in environmental technologies but it appears Tata will also have to front up part of the bill.

Currently, Ford is helping Tata with research and a deal has been struck between the two companies for the supply of components for another four or five years to ensure Jaguar and Land Rover remain technologically up-to-date. But after this honeymoon period, Tata will be on its own and have to develop its own technologies to comply with EU emissions standards. The biggest problem will most likely be Jaguar’s aging engine lineup, which doesn’t compare favorably against the modern fuel efficient engines being developed by the German competition. In five years time the engines will be well behind the technology curve.

Quality and reliability issues also need to be dealt with, especially in the case of Land Rover, which has continued to rate near the bottom in leading customer satisfaction surveys, reports Automotive News.

If Tata wants to succeed in rebirthing the two British icons, part of its success will come from its ability to comply with a changing outlook on environmental issues - an area the Indian carmaker doesn’t have much experience in.

Reader Comments

Mon Mar 31 2008 11:32 AM
chris says

I like this deal, ford gets a big lump of cash for the brands, then gets to sell technology to Tata for 5 more years. At least ford will still have a reason to build engines over 400 hp.

I really do think that this EU CO2 emissions problem for 2011 is going to turn up like californias failed legislatures. the technology simply isnt there. and you're going to punish some of the most prestigious brands to stop selling low volumes of cars?

they'd better include a clause where companies can offset their CO2 fleet average by planting trees or something, otherwise all of europe will be a bunch of prii and fiestas.
Mon Mar 31 2008 10:30 PM
RB says

Good point - it also forces the likes of BMW and Merc to develop small vehicles to average emissions out - and could force others with similar vehicle ranges out of business if they have not got the funds to develop small vehicles!

Although I am not quite sure about all this 'offsetting' stuff - its a bit like a catalytic converter - cleans up the mess after it has been made rather than try and make the thing cleaner in the first place!

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