Tata Motors eyes defence market for Land Rover

15 November 2008

Tata Motors, which acquired iconic UK automobile brands Jaguar and Land Rover, earlier this year, is looking for new ways to sell these gas guzzlers.

Tata Motors, the world's fifth-largest medium and heavy truck-maker and the second-largest heavy bus manufacturer, is now targeting the market for military vehicles in Europe, China, Russia and India to push sagging sales of the Land Rovar.

''We have plans for the defence sector and are looking for defence deals from overseas and also from India," reports quoted Ravi Kant, managing director of Tata Motors, as saying.

The Land Rover, which is based on the Defender heavy-duty 4x4 platform, is already in service with the armed forces in several countries around the world and is designed to meet military standards.

Tata Motors is already a supplier to the Indian military, providing armoured trucks for over five decades, and has showcased the Tata Light Speciality Vehicle, a reconnaissance vehicle, at the Defence Expo earlier this year.

The latest move is aimed at reviving Land Rover's fortunes, whose sales declined 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.