While the Tata brand may not have totally shrugged off its – perhaps unfair – image of being a car maker whose vehicles might suffer a car breakdown more regularly than those of some other auto makers, it is nevertheless a very successful international firm.
News that Tata’s third quarter profits actually fell by 16% may seem like bad news, but net profits from the firm’s various Indian operations still amounted to 234.5 million pounds after tax.
The company’s UK subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), however, posted a 9% increase in profits for the third quarter compared to the same three months last year – amounting to 287 million pounds before tax. JLR stated that global sales were up 30% overall.
Demand for the Land Rover Evoque model is seen as a big driving force behind the success of the marque, which was purchased from Ford for 1.5 billion pounds in 2008. Recent news that a special edition of the Evoque inspired by pop star Victoria Beckham’s unique style is being designed, is sure to boost interest and demand in the model even further.
The impressive results come after Land Rover announced the creation of 1000 new jobs at the firm’s Solihull plant – which already employs 5000 people.
The Tata brand is perhaps best known amongst Europeans for producing one of the most affordable production cars of all time, the Tata Nano, which was designed mainly for the Indian market and retails at the equivalent of around 2,100 dollars. Tata also produce a wide range of other vehicles including trucks, buses and three wheeled taxis known colloquially as ‘tuks tuks’.