25 June 2018

Jaguar Land Rover to invest Rs 1.2 lakh crore in next 3 years

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to invest Rs 1.2 lakh crore in the next three years, the biggest in its history, as it seeks to stay ahead of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in the electric vehicles race and narrow the gap with the entrenched German rivals in the traditional luxury car market.

The funds will go into an unprecedented, 99-product programme that will include annual updates, new-generation cars, vehicles on the electric power-train, and four new brands that inclthe I-Pace and the new Defender. There are likely to be two more EVs.

JLR told the UK investor fraternity last week that it will invest a minimum of £4.5 billion, or Rs 40,519 crore, annually over the next three years. Being a comparatively smaller player to its German rivals, JLR has been disproportionately investing in products and capacity for the future.

Funding will be met through internal accruals and debt. At the end of FY18, JLR had £4.7 billion, or Rs 42,320 crore, of cash in its books. Tata MotorsNSE -6.04 % had paid $2.3 billion (equivalent to Rs 9,200 crore at that time) for Jaguar Land Rover in June 2008.