Tata Motors to begin JLR assembly in India next year

With Jaguar Land Rover, purchased by Tata Motors at a critical time, now having turned the corner, the company is contemplating to begin assembling of these cars in India during the second quarter of 2011.

The move is to reduce the price by assembling here and to penetrate the market with a large potential, challenging the others in the luxury segment - BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz.

Already there have been reports indicating the assembling of the Freelander at the company's Pune plant, which has been churning out Mercedes Benzes on a contract basis.

According to the head, premium cars business, Tata Motors, the company wants to enter all major segments of the country, unlike the competitors, and the company is eager on securing more market share.

He said these two brands have brought more business for the company than expected. By March 2011, the number of dealerships for JLR vehicles will be 10 from the current three in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the car market is all set to get one more diesel variant from Jaguar Land Rover, the British premium brand. This will be Jaguar XF luxury sedan at Rs48.37 lakh, which will be powered by a 3.0 lit V6 cylinder and will be imported as a completely built unit in India.

The version comes from the designing by the UK engineers as the customised version suited for Indian roads, taking into account the potential domestic market.

The official of the company said that there is a move to expand the dealer network and everything will be known after this process is over. Through its three current dealerships, JLR has sold 242 units in the last fiscal.