Original: One of the final hurdles for the completion of Ford's sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors was cleared today as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a notice approving the $2.3 billion deal.
The FTC approved the deal via inaction, reports Automotive News. The lack of opposition to the sale implies there are no lingering anticompetitive concerns about the sale inside the U.S. federal government.
Tata's purchase of the legendary British marques has revived hope for brands, especially the coming generations of Jaguar vehicles. Jaguar had largely languished under Ford's ownership, losing the vitality and resonance it once had. Land Rover has remained fresh and possibly even profitable - Ford never released individual reports on its Premier Auto Group (PAG) companies.
Speaking just after the official announcement of the sale last month, Ravi Kant, Tata's Managing Director, remarked that Land Rover was "very healthy and profitable," while Jaguar was "turning around and is on the cusp of recovery."
The next test of Jaguar's recovery and Tata's new ownership will be developing the XF and its variants and other new models due over the next several years.
Talk of a coming XK coupe in February stirred rumors of a possible XKR-R sporting a 5.0L 500hp V8. A new XJ replacement, codenamed X351 and targeted at Aston Martin's Rapide, Porsche's Panamera and Mercedes-Benz's CLS, is also thought to be in the works.
