14 Nov 2008;business-standard.com:Nevin John & Swaraj Baggonkar:Mumbai: Tata Motors, which bought the marquee UK automobile brands earlier this year, has firmed up plans to develop a new platform for Land Rover to boost the prospects of the company.
Tata Motors, the world’s fifth-largest medium and heavy truck-maker and the second-largest heavy bus manufacturer, plans to develop a new platform for the Land Rover stable to win defence orders from Europe, China, Russia and India, sources familiar with the development said.
“We have plans for the defence sector and are looking for defence deals from overseas and also from India,” Ravi Kant, managing director, Tata Motors, told Business Standard recently. He declined to give further details.
Land Rover, with nearly 60 years’ experience, provides armed forces around the globe with light vehicles designed to meet a wide range of defence and peace-keeping roles.
The standard defence vehicle in the Land Rover stable is based on the Defender heavy-duty 4x4 platform. The military versions of Defender are based on the civilian version, having the same basic chassis, powertrain, axles and bodywork.
Tata Motors has also been providing defence solutions including armoured trucks for over five decades. The company has so far supplied over 10,000 vehicles to the Indian military and paramilitary forces. At the Defence Expo earlier this year, the company showcased the Tata Light Speciality Vehicle (TLSV), a reconnaissance vehicle, in an attempt to expand its offerings.
The company also makes light armoured troop carrier (LATC) with remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) designed for movement of troops and produces the armoured version of the Safari SUV for the army.
Tata Motors’ focus to help revive Land Rover’s fortunes may be governed by declining sales of the company. Land Rover sales dipped 11.22 per cent to 61,421 units in the July-September period as compared to 69,189 vehicles sold in the corresponding period last year. However, Jaguar sales have grown 17 per cent to 17,535 vehicles, thanks to its new brand Jaguar XF model.
Enam Securities in its recent report said that Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) volumes are feeling the heat of a slowdown in the US and Europe.
Given their current situation, we expect that things could get bad on a fiscal basis, unless JLR operations revive in a hurry,” the report said.
