When Tata Motors acquired the struggling Jaguar Land Rover from Ford back in 2008, a lot was said about how the Indian automaker would finally rise with a better range of products learning from one of the iconic auto brands globally. While JLR’s fortunes turned tables soon after the launch with back-to-back successful models, Tata’s growth stagnated eventually leading to losses. However, after a long interval, Tata Motors is once again back on track moving forward in a new direction and its luxury arm Jaguar Land Rover will be playing a pivotal role in the next set of products coming from the Indian manufacturer.
As stated by senior executives at Tata Motors, there will be a tremendous amount of sharing between Jaguar Land Rover and Tata. Even though JLR operates in the luxury market and Tata in the mainstream, both the companies have come together to drive in synergies for mutual benefit in the development of the design and engines of new products that will be instrumental for the growth of both the brands. The automaker will be learning a lot from JLR starting from the basics like what do the customers want, how to incorporate their feedback when developing the design and engineering of the vehicle.
In spite of mounting losses, Tata Motors took a back seat and went back to the drawing board instead of launching half baked new products. The company has heavily invested in its new European Technical Centre that caters to design and engineering development of new models, while also working from its Pune based development centre that works on new engine development. Apart from the in-house sources, the company also acknowledged of taking help from consultants internationally, when needed.
Tata’s most recent launch, the Zest stands testimony of the automaker’s efforts towards the design and development of new products. The company plans to launch two new products every year until 2020 and has the Bolt hatchback planned for a year end launch. Moreover, the Tata board recently approved two new global SUVs that would be introduced by 2017, with the development of the vehicles being supported by JLR. The newly developed Ingenium range of engines that will debut on the XE entry-level Jaguar sedan will also be seen powering the new Tata products.
