Tata Motors stalls in first quarter
Jaguar Land Rover's parent company has blamed a shortfall in profit on slowing sales at the Coventry-based manufacturer.
Indian Tata Motors' first quarter results failed to meet analyst predictions.
While vehicle sales at JLR rose 5 per cent to 62,090 units for the three months to 30 June, its net profit fell 3 per cent to £219m.
Tata said the luxury car brand will now look to challenge BMW with a hybrid supercar and an entry-level sedan to compete with the latter's 3-Series model.
The new vehicles are part of Tata’s ambitious plans to invest £1.5bn every 12 months in product development at JLR over the next five years.
JLR said its Gaydon plant generated 57 percent of Tata Motors’ revenue for the year ended March 31, up from 53 percent a year earlier.
Tata Motors said in the statement that its new Range Rover Evoque, which goes on sale in September, has received about 18,000 bookings. The company also has plans to launch a 2.2 litre, diesel Jaguar XF by the end of this year.
Tata Motors shares rose 0.6 per cent to 849 rupees (£11.55) at the 3:30pm close in Mumbai. In Tata Motors' results for the year ending 31 March 2011, the company said profits increased to £1.1bn, up from £14.6m the previous year. Revenues increased 51 per cent to £9.9bn.
