The latest entrant that has expressed concerns of setting up a manufacturing unit in India is none other Jaguar & Land Rover. Setting up a plant in a country like India has its own sets of infrastructural repercussions as well as macro-economic factors. Over the past few weeks, Jaguar has been figuring out the prospects of setting up a plant in India and finally the company has made up its mind. Along with a manufacturing unit for vehicles, there will be an export base of the company as well. The company presently has an assembly plant in India which was inaugurated last year on May 27th.
It is being said that JLR has high expectations from the manufacturing unit that they will be setting up in India and have predicted that the facility will be making almost 40,000-45,000 units annually. The first car that will be manufactured at the unit will be the DC 100 which is the Land Rover Defender. JLR is now looking up to making its presence felt in Indian automobile market said to be booming ever since European automobile heavyweights rolled into the country. Also, the Government of India is looking forward to dampen the import duties on cars that are manufactured in Europe. Thus this initiative of setting up a plant in India will definitely turn fruitful for them. Incidentally, Jaguar and Land Rover both are owned by Tata Motors of India and thus setting up a base here will definitely give them a boost in the automobile market having a guardian like Tata. Thus coming to India, JLR will be sharing a high amount of exposure along with Tata Motors and that too on the same platform. Ratan Tata added that the company was enthusiastic about getting such a big platform for Land Rover Defender and will make necessary modifications to the car which will make it perfect for the Indian roads. This is what Ratan Tata disclosed in an interview given to the media February. JLR had showcased the new Land Rover Defender at the Auto Expo 2012 held in New Delhi in January, 2012. The car got an immense response from automobile enthusiasts and on the basis of that, JLR figured out the need for a manufacturing unit in India.
Though much of the details of the pact are not being disclosed by the company as of now as it goes against the rules and regulations. JLR has become much more competitive ever since Tata took the ownership of the company. The company has made immense progress in the market and as soon as the manufacturing unit is established in India, vehicle production is going to take place on a large scale. The plant will also be manufacturing engines just like the JLR plant in UK that has been specifically set up for the manufacturing of engines.