Halewood plant secure as Ford seals £lbn sale

Mar 26 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

MERSEYSIDE’S Jaguar and Land Rover plants are to be sold to Indian company Tata Motors as part of a deal worth around £1bn, car giant Ford will confirm today.

The deal is expected to safeguard about 16,000 jobs at Ford’s Halewood and West Midlands plants, and is likely to include a commitment from Tata – India’s biggest vehicle maker – to preserve the style of the luxury car marques.

Tata, which already runs the former British Steel company Corus, has been in talks with Ford for some months.

A spokesman for US giant Ford said last night: “We are not confirming anything until we have communicated any significant developments to our employees.”

The lengthy sale process started last June when Ford announced its intention to sell the companies as a package.

The sale is expected to be welcomed by unions as the best deal to be had.

Jaguar and Land Rover have experienced varying fortunes under Ford’s ownership. While the Halewood-built Land Rover Freelander 2 has proved a great success since its launch in 2006, analysts say that Jaguar has never made a profit.

Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Indian manufacturing giant, said at this year’s Geneva Motor Show he planned to “retain the image, touch and feel” of both Land Rover and Jaguar.

He went on: “There is no need to tinker with the brands.

“Our challenge is to make them thrive and grow.”

Tata accounts for more than half of the sub-continent’s truck market and has about 20% of India’s car market. In January, the company launched the world’s cheapest car, the £1,250 Nano to great popular acclaim.

Motoring experts believe that while Jaguar and Land Rover were only a small part of the vast Ford empire, the two British-based companies will be a major part of Tata’s business.

The Tata takeover means that some of the most famous old British motoring names are in foreign hands, as BMW of Germany owns Mini and Rolls-Royce, while another German company, Volkswagen, is in charge of Bentley.

FULL STORY – LDP BUSINESS: PAGE 1

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