JLR FEELS THE SQUEEZE
There seems to be no end in sight for trouble at Tata Motors
THERE SEEMS to be no end in sight for trouble at India's largest automobile maker Tata Motors. Just when its domestic operations recovered from a prolonged slump, it is the turn of its UK subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover, to face the blues. The slowdown in China, falling sale of diesel vehicles in Europe and concerns on Brexit has hammered the luxury car- makers’ profitability, and consequently that of Tata Motors (JLR accounts for 80 per cent of its revenues). In the first half of this fiscal JLR reported a net loss of 311 million pounds. A turnaround plan "Project Charge" has now been drawn up for JLR just like in Tata Motors India a little over a year ago, envisaging a cost saving of 2.5 billion pounds over the next 18 months. The squeeze could not have come at a worse time but Tata would hope JLR would come out of the rut sooner so it can splurge the cash again.