When Tata bought Jaguar Land Rover from Ford in 2008, many people wondered if this little known (at least in the Western world) car company could turn these famous British brands around. Turns out they’ve done just that, and not in a small way either; Jaguar Land Rover made pre-tax profits of 1.1 billion pounds – all the more surprising when you discover the firm barely broke even over 2009-10.
Where Ford, one of the world’s most famous car brands, failed (or at least failed to deliver on Jaguar and Land Rover’s full potential), Tata has shown real courage, with a raft of investments into new models and into the firm’s development and manufacturing ability.
While the bosses at Tata would of course be delighted with a profit margin such as this at any time, it is perhaps even more welcome given the ostensible failure of the Nano – the world’s cheapest car. A car that was built and sold on the premise of being cheap, would have done far better if stories of fires in some Nanos hadn’t surfaced (few breakdown cover providers could do much about such a fault!). The company said the 85% slump in sales was due to the inability of Indians to obtain credit; analysts disagree.
But Nano aside, increases in sales of other cars (not just in Jaguar Land Rover) have helped replace any Nano inspired frowns on the management with broad grins again. China, as is increasingly the case with so many other products and services around the world, is driving much of the demand for Tata’s various models.
Tata appears to be going from strength to strength, with a bullish attitude to investment and a dedication to keeping the histories of its brands intact. Given the state of many UK family’s finances at the present time, it might not be too long before we see the Tata Nano MK 2 on the streets of Britain. Or might it?
Breakdown Cover from 
