Indian auto giant Tata Motors posts loss

Losses at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and a oneoff payment to close a subsidiary dragged India’s Tata Motors into the red for the three months to September, the company said yesterday.

The Indian car giant reported a consolidated net loss of Rs10.49 billion (Dh521 million; $141.9 million) for the second quarter as demand weakened for its luxury cars across China and Europe.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs24.83 billion for the same period a year earlier.

JLR sales dropped 13.2 per cent worldwide, largely due to higher import duties in China as it engages in an aggressive tariffs war with the United States. “In the latest quarterly period, we continued to see more challenging market conditions,” JLR chief executive Ralf Speth said in a statement.

“Our results were undermined by slowing demand in China, along with continued uncertainty in Europe over diesel,” he added.

Earnings were also hit by a Rs4.37-billion payment to close operations of a local subsidiary in Thailand.

Tata Motors’ total revenues fell 10.9 per cent. The car maker said it would cut costs by £500 million (Dh2.35 billion; $639 million) in the next 18 months to help boost coffers.

“To weather ... (a) volatile external scenario, we’ve launched a turnaround plan to significantly improve our free cash flows and profitability,” Tata Motors chairman N Chandrasekaran said.