Jaguar and Land Rover pose a number of problems for Tata

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.