Tata, Tata Motors, JLR, Jaguar Land Rover, Jaguar, Land Rover, Automotive trends, Auto industry trends, Automotive market research, Automotive market analysis, auto industry news

Tata Motors is an Indian OEM selling cars and light commercial vehicles under the Tata, Jaguar and Land Rover brands. This page contains research on Tata's activities and strategy.

Automotive trends, Auto industry trends, Automotive market research, Automotive market analysis, auto industry news

2020

Q1 2020 (FY Fiscal Year 2019/20) Results

  • JLR’s fiscal full year (April 2019 to March 2020) retail sales of 508,659 units fell (12)% year-over-year. (JLR)

March

  • Plans to separate the commercial and passenger vehicle arms of Tata Motors sometime in 2021, although certain back office functions will still be shared. The aim is to enable as-yet unspecified plans for strategic alliances with other carmakers. (Tata)
  • Moody’s placed Tata Motors credit rating under review for downgrade. (Nikkei)
  • JLR was accused of not doing enough to properly classify workers under a new British law that seeks to tax captive workers as if they were employees regardless of the legal structure of the arrangement (many contract via companies that they own). JLR said it had done everything correctly and there was nothing to worry about. (FT)

February

  • Supplier AAM said the all-electric I-Pace was selling only half of Jaguar’s initial forecasts. (Bloomberg)
  • Looking to sell off wholly owned Indian dealer group Concorde Motors. (Livemint)
  • JLR unveiled Project Vector, a four-person minivan with claimed driverless capability. 20 examples will be part of an on-road test program in 2021. JLR says it has, in line with the latest fashion, developed a running “skateboard” chassis that packages drivetrain and batteries beneath the floor. (JLR)
  • JLR’s CEO implied that the Project Vector chassis and technology would be made available to third parties, who could invest in the venture. (Autocar)
  • Invested in online car financing provider Digital Motors. (JLR)
  • JLR says it will run out of parts in the next two weeks if Chinese suppliers don’t resume production with CEO Speth claiming parts were currently being flown out in suitcases to keep factories going. (BBC)
  • Reportedly decided not to pursue another bond issue after investors demanded too much interest. (Bloomberg)
  • FCA’s soon-to-be-ex CEO Mike Manley is rumoured to be in the running for JLR’s next CEO appointment. (Times of India)
  • Suspended production of the all-electric I-Pace due to a shortage of batteries. JLR expects the stoppage to be temporary but wouldn’t comment on the root cause. (This Is Money)
  • Tata unveiled an array of new products at the Indian Auto Expo, including the Sierra Concept, an all-electric SUV and the production version of the Gravitas. (Tata)
  • JLR will reportedly take several down days at Solihull and Castle Bromwich before the end of March. (Reuters)

January

  • JLR CEO Ralph Speth will step down in September 2020. (JLR)
  • Tata Motors says it will offer the safest cars (as measured by NCAP) in their class. (Autocar)
  • Making around 500 staff at the Halewood, UK, factory redundant. JLR says it is because the plant is becoming more efficient, not because of falling volumes. (Autocar)
  • Tata’s research suggests that Indian customers can be persuaded to upgrade to an all-electric car if the price is within 25% of the conventionally powered version. (Times of India)
  • Future high end JLR cars will have special seats that stimulate the bottom and thighs so drivers and passengers can stay in great shape even as they sit still. No word yet on whether there is a version that does six packs. (JLR)
  • JLR’s huge new £300 million UK warehouse will be owned by a South Korean investment firm. (Telegraph)
  • Deposed chairman Cyrus Mistry says that although he won a court ruling, he isn’t trying to get his old job back, but does want a seat on the board. (Economic Times of India)

2019

Q4 2019 (Fiscal Year Q3) Financial Results

  • JLR reported 2019 retail sales of 557,706 cars, down (5.9)% versus 2018 but focused on the performance in Q4 and December 2019, both of which improved over prior year, mainly driven by China and the USA. (JLR)
  • Tata Motors (including JLR) reported Q4 2019 (fiscal Q3) revenue of 716.8 billion INR (about $10.1 billion), down (7)% on a year-over-year basis. Volumes fell (12)% to 275,907 units. Happily, EBIT of 16.8 billion INR (about $240 million) was much improved from a prior year loss as improvements at JLR more than offset losses on Tata-branded vehicles. (Tata)
  • JLR reported Q4 2019 (fiscal year Q3) revenues of £6.4 billion, up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis and PBT of £318 million, from a loss in the prior year. The company credited its “Project Charge” program for delivering cost savings and said it will now enact “Project Charge +” to save even more. (JLR)

December

  • Tata unveiled the Nexon, a battery-powered B-sized SUV. Despite the seemingly small 30 kWh pack, Tata claims over 300 km of range (as measured in undefined internal testing). (Tata)
  • JLR acquired Bowler, a UK firm that modifies cars for extreme off-road driving, out of administration. (JLR)
  • An Indian tribunal ordered holding company Tata Sons to reinstate ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry. (Reuters)
  • Tata Motors CEO Butschek says there won’t be any more layoffs in India because he wants the company to have capacity ready when the economy rebounds, as he expects it to do soon. (Business Standard)
  • Land Rover is reportedly working on two new vehicles to enter the portfolio sometime after 2021 -- a high end all-electric SUV that might be branded as a Defender, and a low-end Land Rover sharing many components with the Tata Harrier and (shock horror) possibly available as front wheel drive only. (Autocar)
  • Invested in self-driving vehicle developer Apex.ai. (JLR)
  • Unveiled a major facelift for the F-Type. (JLR)
  • Hot on the heels of Audi, Jaguar has told I-Pace customers that they will be treated to improvements that will boost the range. In Jaguar’s case, only software changes (delivered over the air) are required. (Electrek)

November

  • Revealed an updated version of the F-Type sports car. (Jaguar)
  • JLR said all vehicles now being sold are connected and capable of over the air updates. Some owners of recently purchased cars will receive free upgrades to bring their vehicles up to the latest standard. (JLR)
  • JLR’s boss says the company can survive alone, but he would like to partner on some components. Although the company firmly believes in the future of the electric car, it sees customer adoption as slower than hoped. (Reuters)
  • Tata is rumoured to have explored linking up with BMW and Geely to share parts (and maybe even entire models) with JLR in a bid to gain scale. Geely denied there had been any discussions. (Economic Times of India)
  • JLR believe that printed electronics could save 60% of the weight of traditional wiring harnesses. (JLR)

October

  • Tata Sons is increasing its share in Tata Motors to 43.73%. (Economic Times of India)
  • Tata’s chairman said JLR would not be sold and that although he was interested in new partnerships, Tata wouldn’t give up operational control because automotive was a core business and his job is to “run companies”. (Live Mint)

Q3 2019 (Fiscal Year Q2) Financial Results

  • Tata (including JLR) reported Q3 2019 (fiscal Q2) revenue of 65,432 cr INR (about $9.2 billion) and PBT of 621 cr INR (about $88 million). (Tata)
  • JLR reported Q3 2019 (fiscal Q2) revenue of £6.1 billion, up 8% on a year-over-year basis. Pre tax profit was £156 million. JLR claim to have made £162 million of year over year structural cost reductions and a £285 million lower investment spending. (JLR)

September

  • Here is what JLR’s VC team are telling the executives about micro mobility players. (JLR)
  • Executives say that a souped-up performance version of the I-Pace is on the cars. (Autocar)
  • JLR has reportedly told suppliers that it plans to cut production at the Halewood plant. (Coventry Telegraph)
  • JLR is stopping production for the first week of November, just after the (currently) scheduled Brexit date of 31st (Reuters)
  • JLR’s CEO says the firm has a 40-strong team working on nothing but logistics for post-Brexit UK factories however his comments suggested that JLR has taken no actions to deal with Brexit permanently increasing raw material inventories (because of customs delays). (Autocar)
  • JLR participated in self-driving vehicle service Voyage’s $31 million fund raising. (JLR)
  • Unveiled the new Defender. With the re-imagining of the vehicle, JLR have taken the opportunity to hike the technology level of the car -- and the price. (JLR)
  • JLR will use Blackberry’s software for future vehicles and has engaged the firm’s consulting arm to help with developing artificial intelligence and cyber security. (Blackberry)

August

  • Rumoured to have called off a plan to issue $1.5 billion in debt because of insufficient interest. (Live Mint)
  • JLR has reportedly reduced the size of the new standard showrooms it is telling dealers to create after suffering pushback because of the investments involved. Rather than space for 16 cars to be on display, the requirement will only be eight cars. (Automotive Manager)
  • Tata thinks that a range of 200km - 250km is ideal for electric cars in India and thinks that customers might be prepared to pay a price premium of up to 25% over a car with a combustion engine. (Live Mint)
  • Standard & Poors maintained Tata’s credit rating but continued to worry about the firm’s outlook, citing cash burn at JLR as its biggest concern. (Economic Times of India)
  • JLR plans to create a new UK parts distribution hub to take the place of 10 different sites. (Business Live)
  • Reporters speculated that rumoured new small SUVs for Jaguar might be built on the BMW platform that underpins Mini and 1-Series. (Autocar)

July

  • Tata Motors’s chairman said partnerships are “the only way” to cope with the additional capital spending demands of mobility services and electrification, and that Tata was looking at both tactical and strategic options. (Autocar)
  • Tata is setting up a 300 station charging network in India with Tata Power. Planned charging speeds are modest, with power levels between 15 kW - 50 kW planned. (Economic Times of India)
  • Feedback from US customers suggest that Jaguar dealers are offering firesale prices on electric I-Pace models, despite the car having only recently launched. (Inside EVs)
  • JLR received a £500m loan guarantee from the UK government to assist electric vehicle development. The guarantee will enable JLR to receive a low interest rate on £625 million of commercial loans it intends to raise. (JLR)
  • JLR said it would like to produce more cars and SUVs in India but effective tax rates of around 50%, including VAT and surcharges, are restricting the market size. (Economic Times of India)
  • Rumoured to be finalising a deal to buy four and six cylinder engines from BMW in preference to in-house units so that JLR can re-direct development spending to electric vehicles. (Autocar) An earlier rumour was that BMW might supply JLR with V8 engines.
  • Executives reportedly told staff that the Halewood plant will soon lose its third shift. (Liverpool Echo)
  • Confirmed plans for an all-electric replacement for the XJ large saloon at the Castle Bromwich, UK, factory and a “range” of other electric products. Whilst making the announcement, JLR’s CEO said that unless battery factories are built in the UK, car plants will have to be relocated to wherever they are made (JLR)

Q2 2019 (Fiscal Year Q1) Financial Results

  • JLR sold 128,615 cars in April to June 2019 (fiscal Q1), a drop of (11.6)% on prior year. (JLR)

June

  • Reportedly planning to confirm production of an all-electric XJ replacement in Castle Bromwich, UK. (Telegraph)
  • Unsure whether there will be any potential to price for Bharat Stage VI emissions standards in India (due to be implemented from April 2020 onwards) to recover technology costs. (Autocar)
  • JLR wants UK dealers to have an average of around 900 sales per site (including fleet) annually once it has completed a program to reduce dealer numbers to about 125. (Automotive Manager)
  • Moody’s downgraded Tata Motor’s debt rating, with a negative outlook. (Economic Times of India)
  • JLR’s CEO said the brands are not for sale, scotching recent rumours of interest from PSA. (Auto Express)
  • Recalling I-Pace electric vehicles to fix problems with the regenerative braking. (Inside EVs)
  • Announced a collaboration with BMW on next generation electric drives, based on the unit that will debut in the BMW iX3 SUV. Both companies will independently produce drives from common designs. (JLR)
  • JLR’s design chief is moving on professionally, but will remain as a consultant. (JLR)

May

  • JLR’s CFO is leaving, to be replaced by the chief transformation officer. (JLR)
  • Started talks with factory workers in Coventry about job losses when production of the XJ ends in the summer. JLR confirmed that the nameplate will continue. (Birmingham Mail)
  • JLR’s CEO said he hadn’t been involved in any discussions with PSA about a sale but that he couldn’t speak for Tata because he is just “a normal employee in this empire”. (Bloomberg)
  • Although the economies of scale from sharing vehicle components are attractive JLR’s CEO says that, if they mean giving up control of key product or strategy elements, they may not be worthwhile. (Bloomberg)
  • After the leaking of a document purporting to show how JLR would be integrated into PSA post-sale, PSA said it was open minded on the move but Tata immediately flatly denied that a sale was contemplated. (Reuters)
  • JLR CEO Ralph Speth said the business had the full support of Tata but stopped short of an outright denial that a partial or outright sale was under consideration. He is conscious of supply constraints on batteries for electric cars and believes the cost will rise over the next two to three years. (Automotive News)
  • Confirmed that the new Defender will be built in Slovakia (at the end of a tedious press release about the vehicle’s development programme). (JLR)

April

  • JLR is reportedly interested in private car hire firm Addison Lee (along with other, un-named carmakers). The likely price tag is in the £300 million-range. (Sunday Telegraph)
  • Exploring ways to pay drivers with vouchers redeemable for coffee and parking if they agree to share data about driving habits and road conditions. The vouchers would be stored as a cryptocurrency. (JLR)
  • Tata says it is no longer cost effective to develop diesel engines for small vehicles in India because the technology to comply with new emissions rules will make the vehicle too expensive for consumers. (The Economic Times)
  • JLR’s design director hates large touch screens (12” or so) in cars, revealing that he frequently changes the seat or mirror locations whilst driving at 80 miles per hour. (Detroit News)

Q1 2019 (FY Fiscal Year 2018/19) Financial Results

  • Reported full year financial results for the year ending March 2019. Revenue of 301 KCr (about $43 billion) rose 3.7% on a year-over-year basis, JLR’s revenue fell (6.1)% with Tata Motors up 20.3%. There was a full year loss of (1.720) KCr but JLR had some good news: 4th quarter free cash flow of £1.4 billion. (Tata)

March

  • JLR’s North American CEO is unsure of how successful the I-Pace electric car will be (although he likes the car) and sees residual values as a major concern saying that they undermine competitive leasing deals. (CNBC)
  • JLR confirmed it had made a tidy sum by investing in Lyft at $32.15 per share. (JLR)
  • JLR won a Chinese court battle to stop JMC’s Landwind brand producing the X7, a vehicle mightily similar in size, form and detailing to the Evoque. (The Guardian)
  • JLR will recall 44,000 cars in the UK that emit more CO2 than they are should. (BBC)
  • Postponed a planned £500 million investment in a new R&D campus for JLR. (Solihull Observer)

February

  • Reportedly exploring a sale of a partial stake in JLR to raise cash. Tata spokespeople denied it. (Bloomberg)
  • Sources told the BBC that JLR was about to make a major investment in UK manufacturing. The lack of any detail suggested it was the work of PR people or politicians rather than well-informed yet loose-lipped insiders. (BBC)
  • Unveiled a facelifted XE saloon (the second such update). The main focus of the redesign was the front and the interior, which now features an array of digital displays. (JLR)
  • JLR’s InMotion fund participated in a further investment round for usage-based insurer ByMiles. (JLR)
  • Unveiled a new inline six cylinder engine, initially available as a high performance gasoline mild hybrid. (JLR)
  • JLR’s treasurer said the firm was looking for ways to access cash but that it would stay away from unsecured bonds because market conditions are “unfavourable”. (Detroit News)
  • Believes that even with a no deal Brexit, a negotiated settlement will happen “sooner or later” and admitted it was “uncertain” whether the company could pass on tariffs in pricing to customers. (Seeking Alpha)

January

  • No longer planning a limited edition, mega expensive, coupe version of the Range Rover. (Motor 1)
  • JLR factories will close from 8th April to 12th April as a precaution against post-Brexit disruption. (JLR)
  • JLR claimed the I-Pace program took only three years. This contradicts conventional industry wisdom and Jaguar’s puff piece documentary into the program “Jaguar: Going Electric” which says the project began in 2014 (02:35 in for Amazon Prime subscribers). (Autocar)
  • Invested in roadside assistance firm Urgent.ly. (Porsche)
  • Confirming earlier rumours, JLR announced plans to shed about 4,500 jobs, hoping to save over £1 billion (of which it says £500 million is already on the way). JLR will start making electric motors (at the Wolverhampton engine plant) and assembling battery packs at a new site in Hams Hall (where BMW have an engine factory). (JLR)
  • Recalling 68,828 JLR vehicles in China to fix problems with the crankshaft bearings. (Xinhua)
  • The R&D head of Tata Technologies described in an interview how the company approaches material choice for optimum weight reduction and cost optimisation. (Autocar)

2018

Q4 2018 (Fiscal Year Q3) Financial Results

  • JLR sold 592,708 vehicles in 2018, a drop of (4.6)% versus 2017. (JLR)
  • Tata Motors reported financial results for Q4 2018 (fiscal third quarter), including JLR. Revenue of 77,001 Cr rupees (about $10.8 billion) was up 5% versus prior year. An after tax loss of (26,961) Cr rupees (about $3.8 billion) was explained by a massive (27,838) Cr rupees / £3.1 billion write down of JLR’s assets. (Tata)

December

  • Tata Motors has reduced its tier 1 supplier list from 1,100 to 800 in the last 12 months. (Autocar)
  • Rumoured to be working on a JLR recovery plan that will see the loss of 5,000 jobs. (FT)
  • JLR will not attend the 2019 Geneva motor show. (Autocar)

November

  • JLR’s InMotion VC fund invested in WeTrip, a travel agent aimed at group “adventures”. (JLR)
  • Slowing production at the i54 engine plant by stopping one shift per week until Christmas. At Solihull, 200 jobs will be lost through a combination of fewer agency staff and a voluntary redundancy scheme. (Express and Star)
  • Unveiled the new Range Rover Evoque SUV. Although externally very similar to its predecessor, JLR believe that a series of detailed changes will attract customers to the new model. The car offers 48V augmentation for both gasoline and diesel models and a plug in hybrid will be available in 12 months. (JLR)
  • JLR will test driverless cars in London through a partnership with taxi firm Addison Lee as part of a scheme funded by the UK government. (City AM)
  • JLR’s InMotion fund invested in Festicket, a company that offers packages tailored to music festivals. Although seemingly unrelated to the carmaking business, JLR pointed to the services popularity amongst the same type of customers it aspired to serve. (JLR)
  • CEO Speth called for better cooperation between governments and industry to create standards for self-driving cars, especially in the domain of keeping information private whilst enabling connected services. (Reuters)
  • InMotion Ventures invested in Transit, the multi-modal app also backed by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. (JLR) It also backed Arc, an early stage start-up hoping to bring an all-electric motorbike to production. (JLR)

October

  • JLR thinks the growth of electric vehicles will lead to buildings being covered in greenery. (Autocar)
  • Opening a 100-person engineering centre in Hungary in early 2019. (JLR)
  • Researching ways to reduce motion sickness through adjusting vehicle settings once the car is on the move. (JLR)
  • Launched operations at JLR’s new plant in Nitra, Slovakia. JLR has already launched a second stage of recruitment to take employment from 1,500 to around 2,350. (JLR)
  • Reportedly considering ending all conventionally powered Jaguar vehicles within the next five to seven years (e.g. at the end of the current model cycle, including the yet-to-be launched but heavily rumoured J-Pace). Internal forecasts are that a four to five car line-up could sell 300,000 units annually. (Autocar)
  • Planning a major revamp of Indian dealers from 2019 onwards. (Live Mint)
  • A letter to agency staff said the Solihull shutdown was due to a backlog of 25,000 unsold units. (Birmingham Mail)
  • Rumoured to be considering buying V8 engines from BMW to replace high power units currently sourced from Ford for the next generation F-Type. (CAR)
  • JLR said it had spent in the low double digit millions of pounds on Brexit preparation. (Bloomberg)
  • Planning a two week shutdown in Solihull during October, blaming falling demand in China. (BBC)
  • Defender prototypes have been spotted around JLR’s engineering facilities, their camouflage and decoy bodywork seemingly undermined by uncharacteristic hashtag branding across several surfaces. (Sunday Times)

Q3 2018 Financial Results

  • Tata Motors reported financial results for Q3 2018 (the second quarter of its financial year). Sales volumes of 322,914 units were up 4.4% on a year earlier and revenue of 72,112 Cr INR (about $9.9 billion) rose 3.3%, nevertheless, EBIT of 1,257 Cr INR (about $160 million) fell (62.6)% YoY, more than explained by JLR’s performance. The brand lost £(90) million in the three month period, saying sales had fallen and citing particular weakness in China. JLR said it would launch a turnaround plan. (Tata)

September

  • JLR’s CEO used a speech at a conference on zero emission vehicles attended by the British prime minister to berate the UK government for its approach to Brexit planning and wondering out loud whether factories would continue to function in the event of a hard Brexit. (Reuters)
  • Moved to a three-day week at the Castle Bromwich, UK Jaguar plant, due to unspecified headwinds. Sales of models built at the factory have fallen to about 52,500 in the first eight months of 2018 from about 69,000 in the same period last year. (Bloomberg)
  • Launched a network of charging stations in South Africa to encourage I-Pace buyers. (IOL)
  • JLR released a retro-look stereo with smartphone integration and a small touch screen that can fit a single DIN slot of the type used by older vehicles. The unit costs £1,200, plus fitting. (JLR)
  • Recalled Tata Tigors to rectify emission issues. (Tata)

August

  • A UK motor magazine said the F-Type replacement will have a mid-engined layout, with an all-electric version due by the mid 2020s. (Auto Express)
  • Before it has even opened, union officials at JLR’s new factory in Slovakia are complaining about the work environment, saying that insufficient air conditioning has been installed to stay within comfortable working temperatures. JLR say that a “drinking regime” is used in the event of high temperatures. This is OEM-code for offering workers the choice between: working in stifling heat or; working in stifling heat and consuming disgusting orange squash, the type which you will have experienced if you were unlucky enough to attend an English state school in the 1980s and seems to have disappeared from all shelves; except those of a secret supermarket seemingly known only to OEM HR departments. (Slovak Spectator)
  • Reportedly plans to start production at its new plant in Slovakia in September. (Slovak Spectator)
  • Released its annual sustainability report. (Tata)

July

  • Experiencing delivery delays with I-Pace, depending on who you ask it is because of “manufacturing issues” (the dealers) or “prioritisation” to best meet market demand (Jaguar). (Electrek)
  • Tata Motors has reportedly restarted talks to sell a share in its engineering arm. (Hindustan Times)
  • Stopped production of the Nano after a dramatic fall in sales. (Autocar)
  • An Indian court rejected the case brought by the ex-Chairman against his dismissal after it concluded he tried to concentrate too much power. (Economic Times of India)
  • Tata Motors took a 26% stake in freight aggregator TruckEasy. (Tata Motors)
  • Moody’s downgraded Tata Motors to Ba2. (News 18)
  • Publicly called on the UK government to do a better job on delivering a stable business environment post Brexit saying that the company would lose £1.2 billion in profits through a “bad Brexit deal”. The company said £80 billion of spending over five years would be at risk, a figure which includes vehicle bill of material spending. (JLR)
  • Confirmed that the financial plans for JLR shared at a recent analyst’s briefing did not include assumptions for a “worst case Brexit scenario”. (Tata)

Q2 2018 Financial Results

  • Reported financial results for the first quarter of the 2018-2019 year. Revenue of 670 billion INR (about $9.7 billion) was a 14% improvement versus the prior year. There was an after tax loss of (18) billion INR (about $260 million). The year over year drops were almost entirely explained by JLR which saw revenue fall (7)% to £5.2 billion and made an after tax loss of £(210) million. (Tata)
  • JLR sold 318,219 units in the first half of 2018, about flat from the same period in 2017. (JLR)

June

  • JLR’s expected powertrain mix in the medium term is 20% PHEV / BEV, 50% Gasoline and 30% diesel. (JLR)
  • Planning to increase its global dealer body from around 1,570 today to around 1,800 by 2023. (JLR)
  • Said electrification now accounts for 60% of its powertrain investment. (JLR)
  • Opened a new development centre in Manchester, UK to work on connected car technologies. (JLR)
  • Executives said JLR intends to build an EV in China and will release details within the next year. (Bloomberg)
  • Will move production of the Discovery to Slovakia when its new plant opens there in 2019. Previously JLR indicated that some production would remain in the UK. JLR said the potential job losses which could result at the Solihull plant would come from temporary staff and was a “tough one”. Sources speculated the decision was made to free up space in Solihull for the Jaguar J-Pace. (JLR)
  • Launched a new subscription service called Carpe that offers 12 month contracts without deposits. At present the scheme is UK only, and not that cheap. Range Rover Evoques start at £1,176 per month (all inclusive). (JLR)
  • 33% of respondents to an online poll about the I-Pace’s artificial in-cabin sound said they hated it. (The Verge)

May

  • Confirmed the end of production for the Indica compact car. (Live Mint)
  • JLR announced a series of management changes and a reorganisation of the sales function. (JLR)
  • JLR’s venture arm invested in FATMAP, an outdoor activity planner. (JLR)

April

  • Tata Motors is to sell its defence and aerospace division to Tata Advanced Systems. (Autocar)
  • When asked about all-electric Land Rover models, CEO Speth told journalists to “watch this space”. (Bloomberg)
  • Land Rover is reportedly planning to launch a 4.1m long SUV (Renault Captur territory) but hasn’t decided the market positioning. (Autocar)
  • Detailed the employee cuts and transfers that were reported last week: 1,000 agency positions will go at the Solihull plant, partially backfilled by 392 transfers from Castle Bromwich. (Sky News)
  • As rumours circulated of a plan to cut around 1,000 jobs (focused on agency staff), JLR issued a statement calling reviews of production schedules “standard business practice” and said that while it would make some “adjustments” to the level of agency staff, the company stressed the hiring of apprentices and professionals. (JLR)

Q1 2018 Earnings

  • Tata reported full year revenues of 294,243 Rs Cr (about $44 billion) for the 2017/18 fiscal year, an increase of 9% on a year earlier. PBT of 11,155 Rs Cr (about $1.7 billion) improved 20% YoY. (Tata)
  • JLR reported financial results for the 2017/18 fiscal year. Revenue of £25.8 billion was up 6% on a year over year basis. PBT of £1.5 billion fell (5)% from a year earlier (and further if special items were excluded). Although many media reports attributed the lower profit to Brexit and diesel’s decline in Europe, JLR said it was mainly due to investment in new vehicles and technologies. (JLR)
  • Jaguar Land Rover sold 614,309 cars in the financial year to end March 2018, up 1.7% on the prior year. (JLR)
  • Tata Motor’s Indian market sales in the financial year ended 31st March 2018 totalled 586,639 units, a rise of 23% over the prior year. (Tata)

March

  • Waymo will use Jaguar’s I-Pace as its first all-electric autonomous vehicle, planning for up to 20,000 purchases between 2020 and 2022 -- a fleet that Waymo says could operate 1 million trips per day. (Waymo)
  • Tata Motors CEO said that company would have completely overhauled its product line by 2023-24, with new products based on one of two platforms -- ALFA (3.7 - 4.3m) and OMEGA (>4.3m). (Economic Times of India)
  • Stopped production at the Solihull plant to help the local water utility maintain supply after cold weather burst pipes in the area. (Reuters)
  • Jaguar said it wanted to improve relationships with its UK dealers and change the dialogue from “parent-child” to “adult-adult”. JLR’s UK diesel mix is around 80% and executives said that “consumers need to know that, for many of them, diesel remains the right option”. (Automotive Manager)
  • Said the 2-door, 4 seat, version of the Range Rover will be limited to 999 examples. (Land Rover)
  • Jaguar unveiled the I-Pace with a Top Gear / Grand Tour style video and a drag race with a Tesla Model X (the Jag won but, given the stated 4.8 second 0-60 time, one wonders whether Ludicrous Mode was turned on). (Jaguar)

February

  • Reportedly hired an investment bank to manage the sale of its Tata AutoComp Systems components subsidiary. (Deal Street Asia)
  • Tata intends to double its dealer footprint in India to 1,500 sites by 2020 -- covering around 90% of the market (from 70% today). (Economic Times of India)
  • Confirmed that it had an extended Christmas shutdown at Castle Bromwich plant (which makes almost all Jaguar models) and that further downtime was scheduled in the near future. (Coventry Telegraph)

January

  • Cutting production in Halewood, UK by taking down days in Q2. Although media focus was on the effect of Brexit and diesel sales, ageing of the model line-up and cannibalisation from Velar also appear plausible. (The Guardian)
  • Rumoured that the replacement for the XJ luxury saloon will be all-electric. (Autocar)
  • Invested in US ride-hailing start-up Voyage -- a company that previously said it believed fares could be paid for by advertising. (JLR)

2017

2017 Full Year Earnings

  • Tata Motors announced Q4 2018 financial results, revenue of 74,157 Rs Cr (about $11.1 billion) was up 16.1% year-over-year, mostly thanks to growth from Tata branded vehicles. PBT ws 2,029 Rs Cr (about $300 million). (Tata)
  • JLR reported Q4 2018 financial results (included in the Tata figures above). Revenue of £6.3 billion rose 4.3% year-over-year and the business reported profits of £192 million. (JLR)
  • JLR sales for 2017 totalled 621,109 units, an increase of 7% on 2016; Jaguar sales were up 20%. (JLR)

December

  • Land Rover is reportedly planning to release an all-electric version of the new Defender. (Motoring)
  • Fleet managers looking for £40k commercial vehicles with impaired package, small load space, no sliding doors and leather seats can now order a Land Rover Discovery Commercial. (Auto Express)
  • Executives said the Range Rover Velar was mainly attracting new customers, with around 20% of buyers coming from Evoque. (Autocar)
  • Tata is working with Thai start-up DRVR to provide fleet management services in markets including Thailand and Indonesia. (Autocar)

November

  • Will reportedly supply glider Nanos to Jayem Automotive, who will add an all-electric powertrain and market the vehicle as the Jayem Neo. Tata NEO. The vehicle is said to be powered by a 48V system. (Autocar)
  • JLR announced that it had started testing autonomous vehicles on public roads (with safety drivers). (JLR)
  • Was forced to deny that it had taken a stake in Faraday Future. (Green Car Reports)

October

  • Reportedly planning to follow-up the Jaguar I-Pace with Land Rover’s first BEV, a large SUV, in 2019. (Autocar)

Q3 2017 Earnings

  • Reported Q3 2017 / Q2 fiscal year financial results. Revenue and profits increased on a year-over-year basis but the Tata Motors brand is still lossmaking. (Tata)
  • Reported group wholesales for Q3 2017 of 309,163 units, an increase of 11.7% on a year over year basis. Sales were up across brands with the exception of Jaguar, which fell (2.1)% YoY. (Tata)
  • JLR reported Q3 sales of 149,690 units, an increase of 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. For 2017 YTD, JLR sales are up 7.5%. (JLR)

September

  • Will end its large petrol engine supply arrangement with Ford in September 2020, signalling that the company intends to launch its own replacement for the V6/V8 petrol engines built there before the end of the decade (unless customers are going to buy I4s instead of V8s). (BBC)
  • JLR is reportedly interested in buying a luxury brand -- the move is apparently driven by Tata Motors wishing to add scale. (Bloomberg)
  • In a similar move to Audi’s, JLR is changing the way it denotes the powertrain in the vehicle name. The new strategy sees fuel type, power and driveline (if AWD) being included. As with Audi, the move it likely a precursor to all-electric sales traditional ICE badging makes comparison across models difficult (until you read the brochure). (Auto Express)
  • JLR is reportedly looking at offers from Samsung SDI, LG Chem and Panasonic to supply batteries. The company is apparently requesting quotes for around 2 million 21700-size cylindrical cells each year. (ET News)
  • Tata Sons was reportedly behind an anonymous acquisition of about 1.7% of Tata Motors stock. This week also saw speculation that changes to voting rights for preference shares in Tata Sons could see the power of the Mistry family substantially reduced.. (Economic Times of India)
  • Said I-Pace has reached 25,000 orders in a TV interview. Asked about customer reaction to I-Pace he said it was “just another car with a different propulsion system”. Explaining the concept shared steering wheel displayed last week he said that he was “convinced” customers would want to own cars but that they might want to share them with friends. (Bloomberg)
  • JLR said that from 2020, every new product launched will be electrified. The company says that it will have a portfolio that includes mild hybrid (48V), plug-in and fully electric vehicles. JLR’s wording implied that in some instances, “electrification” could mean no more than a 48V system being offered alongside ICE-only powertrains. (JLR)
  • Showed off its vision of travel in 2040 called the Jaguar Future Type. JLR has joined Daimler and BMW by adopting the Connected, Electric, Autonomous, Shared breakdown of future vehicle attributes. Much of JLR’s presentation was around a new in-car assistant technology called Sayer which will exist in the cloud and can thereore be downloaded into different vehicles. (JLR)
  • JLR’s CEO gave a speech in which he declared that the company was leading the mobility “revolution” but said that the UK government needed to do more to support technological change. Amongst other things he said that the government had “no detailed plans” for the implementation of an ICE ban by 2040. (JLR)
  • Reportedly suffering from industrial relations problems at the Jamshedpur factory. A mistake in employee pay cheques is being used as leverage by unions to demand increased permanent (as opposed to temporary) hiring. (Economic Times of India)

August

  • Tata’s chairman was forced to defend JLR chief Ralf Speth’s pay, saying that his circa £7 million annual remuneration was “not high at all” and “slightly on the low side”. (Economic Times of India)
  • Announced that it had developed a new brand identity for Tata Motors: “Connecting Aspirations”. The company believes mobility services are better covered by the new tagline. (Tata)
  • Tata Motor’s CEO said that the company was still looking for partners on small vehicle platform following the failure of its intended collaboration with VW Group. (Economic Times of India)
  • Tata Motor’s COO said that Nano production, currently at around 1,000 vehicles per month, would not be phased out, citing sentimental reasons. (Economic Times of India)
  • Tata Motors announced a new CFO, P B Balaji joins the company from Hindustan Unilever. (Tata)
  • Announced July sales figures. Tata sold 98,534 units globally, up 12% year-over-year, of which JLR was 51,245 vehicles. (Tata)
  • Announced that, following in-depth discussions with Škoda, it would not create a partnership in small vehicles because “the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies are originally assessed”. Tata said that the two parties would “keep in touch”. (Tata)

July

  • Announced the opening of JLR’s first non-UK engine plant in China, part of a JV with Chery. This is not quite as historic as it might seem as JLR have only been manufacturing their own engines for a couple of years (pre-Ford days notwithstanding). The press release was careful to mention the “exactly 28 robots” working in the plant. (More…)
  • Said that it would build the E-Pace in two factories -- neither of which are JLR owned. For international markets, Magna will produce the E-Pace in Graz, Austria. For China only, Chery will make the vehicle at its Changshu factory. (More…)
  • Reported Tata Motors Group sales, including JLR, of 90,966 units in June 2017, a drop of (2)% on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to declines in commercial vehicle sales. (More…)
  • Managing Director of Tata’s truck making business said that performance of the CV business was “worrisome” and that the company’s focus must change from “transformation journey to a turnaround” in a memo to employees. (More…)

Q2 2017 Earnings

  • JLR reported financial results for Q2 2017 (the first quarter in its financial year). Revenue of £5.6 billion was up 5% on a year-over-year basis but pre-tax profit of £595 million was well down on £399 million in the prior year once the effect of a £437 million on-time item related to pensions accounting was removed. (JLR)
  • Reported June sales figures for Jaguar Land Rover. Sales of 51,591 vehicles were up 11% on a year-over-year basis. For April to June 2017, sales of 137,463 units was an increase of 3.5% but within this figure Land Rover sales were down (4.7)% -- attributed by JLR to weakness in emerging markets other than China. (..)

June

  • Said that Jaguar will launch a new SUV called the E-Pace, smaller in size than the F-Pace model. Although the name might lead one to believe that the vehicle is electric, it will be powered by petrol and diesel engines. (More…)
  • JLR said that it had made a $25 million investment in Lyft via its InMotion subsidiary. The investment includes a technology collaboration and the supply of some JLR vehicles to Lyft. Although only announced now, the investment is part of a fund raising round that closed in April. Whilst JLR touted a multitude of benefits, Lyft said only that it was “excited to join forces”. (More…)
  • JLR will reportedly announce plans to hire 5,000 engineers and technical staff with a focus on electronic and software engineers. JLR made no comment but it is rumoured that an official statement could be made this week. (More…)
  • Some of the shareholdings within the Tata group are being re-organised. Tata Motors is selling a significant minority stake in Tata technologies to Warburg Pincus (More…) whilst Tata Steel is selling its 2.9% stake in Tata Motors to Tata Sons. (More…)
  • JLR reported May sales of 45,487 units, up 1.2% year-over-year. (..)
  • Tata announced that it had concluded negotiations on its long term wage settlement with unions in Sanand, India. The agreement is retroactive and runs from October 2015 to September 2020. The agreement reportedly includes a wage increase spread equally across years and a new performance bonus. (..)

May

  • Reported May sales (excluding JLR). Total sales of 38,361 units was 4% down year-over-year, about half of this drop coming in the Indian market. Passenger cars were up by 27% YoY in India, partially offsetting the 40% YoY fall in commercial vehicle sales. Tata said that supply of some commercial vehicles had been constrained and that May 2016 had been “very strong”. (..)
  • Announced that it will train up to 40,000 people as part of its “Skill India Mission” contribution. Tata will not hire all the trainees itself. Its annual requirement is around 300-400 new hires. (..)
  • Announced a product investment plan with the aim of boosting global market share -- especially in CVs. (More…)
  • The European Commission announced that it will look at whether state aid rules were breached in agreeing a €125 million support package for JLR’s Slovakia plant. JLR denies that there is any violation of the rules. (..)
  • Said that global wholesales fell in April. Total sales of 73,691 units were 9% down year-over-year. JLR sales fell slightly to 41,923 units, down about 2% YoY. The main reason for the group’s drop was commercial vehicles and the Tata Daewoo range where sales fell 36% YoY. (..)

April

  • JLR CEO Ralph Speth gave an interview where he defended modern diesel engines. (..)
  • Fitch upgraded the credit rating of Tata Motors to BB+ with a stable outlook. (..)
  • Announced that production had begun of its new 2.0l petrol engine in its Wolverhampton engine plant. (..)
  • Said that it will reduce its portfolio in the next 3-4 years by removing nameplates and having only two platforms instead of six. This will reportedly include axing the Nano. (Source)

Q1 2017 Earnings

  • Reported Q1 2017 financial results for the total Tata Automotive business. Revenue was down year-over-year, due to lower sales of Tata branded vehicles and weaker GBP impact on JLR sales (even though JLR’s GBP revenues were up). Profit was also down, reflecting higher sales but also higher costs at JLR (along with weaker sterling) and lower sales of Tata commercial vehicles, partially offset by passenger car growth. (..)
  • JLR reported full year results (its financial year runs to the end of March). Wholesales of 604,009 units were a new record, up 16% year-over-year. Full year revenue of £24.3 billion was up 9% YoY, pre-tax profits of £1.6 billion were up 3% YoY. (..)
  • JLR reported record sales of 604,009 vehicles in the full year, including sales for March up 21% year over year (Source)

March

  • Tata said that the Indian Supreme Court ruling banning the sale of higher emitting vehicles will have a material impact on the entire automotive industry as it believes it will be difficult liquidate all inventory before the ban comes into effect on 1st April.