Ford sells Jaguar, Land Rover

Is it now official. Tata is now the father of both Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford has finally gotten rid of two of its biggest cash bleeders to India’s Tata Motor. This is an interesting twist in colonialism, given that both the US and India were once British colonies, and have now had a hand in where two of its most famous car brands go.

The sale is worth some estimated USD2.3 billion, which is in cash from Tata.

"Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands," said Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. "We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata’s stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."

Tata had been the key bidder in this whole process since Jag and LR were announced to be going on sale. Ford lost USD2.7 billion last year and has been in great danger of sinking into bankruptcy for over three years now. Selling the two luxury brands would inject some much-needed cash into its operations and possibly reverse a Titanic situation. Jag and LR were purchased by Ford in 1989 and 2000 respectively, the latter from BMW which was also disappearing fast no thanks to LR debt and bad product. Land Rover has come back with guns blazing in the past year and is now seen as a very attractive buy for anyone, while Jaguar is still redefining its space yet again with new product such as XF.