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July 15 (Reuters) – India’s Tata Motors (TAMO.BO) on Thursday said its global vehicles sales rose 46 percent in June to 91,608 units, compared with a year ago.
The figure includes its British luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover, whose sales rose 47 percent in the month to 20,189 units, the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Janaki Krishnan)
STOCKHOLM, March 28 (Reuters) – Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China’s largest private-run car maker, has agreed to acquire Ford Motor’s (F.N) Volvo car unit, a Volvo spokesman said on Sunday.
Stocks | Mergers & Acquisitions | Cyclical Consumer Goods
The deal, which both sides aim to close in the coming months, will free up cash for the number two U.S. automaker and enable it to focus on its core Ford brand.
Geely, parent of Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK), was named by Ford as the preferred bidder for its Swedish unit in October 2009.
The Volvo takeover marks China’s biggest acquisition of foreign auto assets and the final member to be sold of Ford’s former premier auto group, which had also included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.
STOCKHOLM, March 28 (Reuters) – Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China’s largest private-run car maker, has agreed to acquire Ford Motor’s (F.N) Volvo car unit, a Volvo spokesman said on Sunday.
Stocks | Mergers & Acquisitions | Cyclical Consumer Goods
The deal, which both sides aim to close in the coming months, will free up cash for the number two U.S. automaker and enable it to focus on its core Ford brand.
Geely, parent of Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK), was named by Ford as the preferred bidder for its Swedish unit in October 2009.
The Volvo takeover marks China’s biggest acquisition of foreign auto assets and the final member to be sold of Ford’s former premier auto group, which had also included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.
The murder committal hearing for Judy Moran has been told her home was under covert surveillance by police on the morning of her brother-in-law’s murder.
Desmond ‘Tuppence’ Moran, 60, was gunned down in a cafe in the Melbourne suburb of Ascot Vale in June last year.
Senior Constable Craig Zeeher has testified he was sent to Judy Moran’s home on the afternoon of the murder.
He told the court, en route to the house, Sergeant Sussan Thomas told him Judy Moran was a possible suspect in the shooting.
In his statement he said the pair were tasked to ‘try and keep Judy Moran at the address’.
When questioned if he was monitoring her movements, and those of her co – accused, Suzanne Kane, 46, he said he was ‘providing security’ until a homicide detective arrived.
He told the court he did not know Judy Moran’s home had been under covert surveillance since 7:00am on the day of the shooting.
Sergeant Sussan Thomas had told the court she had assumed Judy Moran was a possible suspect.
“I always thought it was possible from the onset of Judy Moran attending the scene,” she said.
The court heard the police officers informed the accused they were free to leave the house but could not be provided police protection if they did.
Both police officers told the court the women were not under investigation at the time but statements were taken from the pair.
The court has also heard that seven to 10 days before Des Moran was shot, Judy Moran bought a Land Rover and two other cars with money she got by refinancing her home.
The vehicles were registered in her name and in Kane’s name.
Judy Moran’s accountant, Peter Cook, told the court he believed Kane and her partner, Geoffrey Armour, were bankrupt at the time.
He said Judy Moran described Kane as being “like a daughter to me”.
The committal hearing for Judy Moran, Kane, Armour and Michael Farrugia is continuing.
Mumbai, Sep 1 (ANI): Tata Motors, India’s largest vehicle maker have posted a consolidated loss for its fiscal first quarter, but remained confident about the prospects of its loss-making Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) unit.
This was disclosed by the C Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer at a press conference that was also addressed by Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman and Prakash Telang, Managing Director of the company here on Monday.
The company, which controls about 60 percent of the world’s fifth-biggest truck and bus market, said that increased borrowing to support investments and new product development caused an increase in depreciation and interest costs.
It said JLR unit’s sales fell about 52 percent in the quarter from a year ago due to adverse global market conditions.
The company is eyeing some support from the commercial banks to meet the crisis.
“We are working on to tie up our working facilities with commercial banks for Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR)…this has been put in place, some work is still going on which would be finalise in next few weeks,” said Ramakrishnan.
The company reported 3.29 billion rupees consolidated loss for April-June.
In the year-ago quarter, Tata Motors posted a net profit of 7.2 billion rupees, but said the figures were not comparable as the previous period contained JLR numbers only for June 2-30. Tata said JLR made a loss before tax of 62 million pounds during the fiscal first quarter. JLR sold 35,900 units during the quarter, up from 32,600 in the March quarter.
In July, Tata Motors reported a standalone net profit of 5.14 billion rupees for its Indian operations. But officials hoped that market would recover despite a weal monsoon.
“I can say that things would have been better, but the monsoon has not been so good that caution optimism but we still believe that things would be slightly better in coming time,” said Prakash Telang, Managing Director, Tata Motors.
Auto sales in India have been rising on an improving economy, easier finance and new launches, including Tata Motor’s Nano, the world’s cheapest car, which hit the roads in July.
The company’s consolidated debt at the end of June stood at 240 billion rupees. The company has said it would look at capital raising at an appropriate time to deleverage its balance sheet. (ANI)
London, Aug. 25 (ANI): Almost 46 years after his famous victory over Henry Cooper at Wembley, Muhammad Ali is set to go down memory lane during his upcoming tour to Britain.
Ali, 67, lands at Manchester airport on Tuesday to complete a short British tour that will include appearances at a series of dinners, The Times reports.
During a trip to a show jumping event on Friday evening, he will be reunited with Sir Henry Cooper in an open-top Land Rover tour of the Windsor arena.
It has been almost five decades since Cooper knocked Cassius Clay, as Ali then was, to the floor, in the fourth round of their Wembley bout.
What followed has gained a place in boxing folklore.
Recounting how he was floored by Cooper, Ali said that he was hit so hard his “ancestors in Africa felt it”. (ANI)
George Michael Arrested after Car Crash | George Michael Arrested | George Michael Car Crash | George Michael News
London — Pop Singer George Michael was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning after his car collided with another vehicle.
He was questioned by police on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs, and was later released without charge, the BBC said.
The 46-year-old singer, who had just completed a two-year driving ban, was held after his silver Land Rover hit a lorry on the A34 in Berkshire at around 1am. He was taken to Lodden Valley police station, near Reading, for questioning before being released around five hours later.
A spokeswoman for Thames Valley police said: “Officers were called at 1am on August 14 to a collision on the southbound carriageway of the A34, approximately two miles north of the M4.
“It was between a silver Land Rover and an articulated lorry. The driver of the Land Rover, a 46-year-old man, was arrested at the scene.
“He was taken to Lodden Valley police station, where he was questioned and released at 5.55am.”
The lorry driver, Laurie Rowe, told the Daily Mail that Michael had been “completely disorientated, like he had no idea what was going on”.
“He looked totally dazed and even tried to climb into the cab of my lorry. He kept saying he was worried he would go to jail.”
But in a statement released today, Michael denied being drunk. “Neither of us was charged because we were both stone cold sober,” he said. “We both think the other is to blame so this is just an insurance fight.
“I don’t want my fans or my family worried by what they are reading all over again.”
George Michael who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with seven US number one singles, 11 number one singles in Britain and six number one albums, was also cautioned for drugs possession in 2008.
London, July 3 (ANI): Land Rover has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s strongest phone, after the gadget survived being dropped from a tall building, stood on by an elephant, and roasted in an oven.
Called the new S1 mobile, the ‘indestructible’ device was developed after the car giant teamed up with phone manufacturer Sonim.
During durability tests, the phone was run over with a Land Rover, submerged in mud, and had an elephant stand on it.
Aimed at appealing to builders and workmen, the S1 features up to 1,500 hours of battery life, a 2.0 megapixel camera, and an extra loud ringtone to be heard over the sound of heavy machinery.
Tesco launched the phone with a price tag of 249.99 pounds, and are so confident it can’t be broken that it comes with an unconditional three-year guarantee.
However, staff at British tabloid The Sun managed to crush the S1 under the weight of a three-tonne forklift truck.
The phone, however, did survive being roasted in an oven at 150 degrees centigrade, soaked in a pint of lager and tossed from the second floor of a building. (ANI)
London, May 30 (ANI): Tottenham Hotspurs and England striker Jermain Defoe, 26, is to lose his license after being found guilty of two speeding offences.
According to The Sun, Defoe was also convicted of failing to declare who was behind the wheel for both offences.
His Land Rover was clocked at 65 mph and 81mph in a 50mph zone on the M11 at Chigwell, Essex, last spring.
Defoe, who already had six points on his license – did not attend Chelmsford magistrates’ court. He has been ordered to appear to have his license taken away. (ANI)
Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Tata Motors, India’s leading manufacturer of both heavy and light automobiles, launched a new line of trucks, named ‘World Truck’ here on Thursday.
The launching of the new series of trucks also marked the company’s objective to bring international standard top quality trucks in the Indian market.
The range, which comprises of multi-axle trucks, tractor-trailers, mixers and special application vehicles, is a bid by Tata Motors to prove itself as a global auto major.
“There will be various offerings coming from this. There will be tractors for taking higher levels of movements across high speed tracks. There will be tippers which will be meeting construction and mining requirements. So, it is an entire range of products which will be coming through this,” said P M Telang, Executive Director, Tata Motors.
The company however has not mentioned the price levels of its latest models and the varied versions.
“It’s about changing the way trucking happens in India and bringing it closer to the sort of levels that you see in more developed countries and rest of the world. So, it is a range of models and when you talk of range of models, there is no one price we can talk about,” said R Ramakrishnan, Head of Marketing, Medium and Heavy Trucks, Tata Motors.
Tata Motors bought the Jaguar and Land Rover brands last year, and is raising funds to close a 1.9 billion dollars residual bridge loan taken for the acquisition. (ANI)
London, Apr 30 (ANI): The wrangling between the Treasury Department and the Lord Mandelson-led Business Department might delay an 800 million pound emergency package for the Tata owned Jaguar Land Rover.
Jaguar Land Rover executives fear that even if they can agree terms with the Treasury for the refinancing it may be months before they receive the cash. Such a delay could force the carmaker to cut jobs in its 15,000-strong workforce to stay afloat.
Officials from the Business Department (BERR) met executives representing Jaguar Land Rover this week to discuss the package, The Guardian reported.
The carmaker was warned that the conditions demanded by the Treasury in return for supporting the 800 million pound package may be so exacting that owner’s Tata would not agree to them.
A spokesman for Mandelson’s department last night denied there was a rift with the Treasury, but indicated that Tata was responsible for securing financing for Jaguar Land Rover.
The government announced this month that the European Investment Bank had agreed to lend 340 million pounds to Jaguar, but executives are frustrated that the government has yet to commit to underwrite the loan, The Guardian reported.
The 340 million pounds is part of the 800 million pound refinancing package for Jaguar, made up of loans from banks led by government-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.
Tata is thought to have agreed to provide 100 million pound. The Treasury has already agreed in principle to guarantee only about three-quarters of the EIB loan. Jaguar has agreed to underwrite the rest. But after three weeks of talks with civil servants, the Treasury has still not indicated what conditions it will set for underwriting the loan.
Jaguar is concerned that the Treasury may demand that the government is given an equity stake in the firm or that Tata pump another 300 million pound into its UK subsidiary. (ANI)
According to the Sunday Times, an 800-million pound refinancing loan for the Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) appears to be on the cards, given the “advanced talks” of the company with British ministers and a banking syndicate led by the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB.
The talks have been somewhat slow since November 2008, with officials being overwhelmed by “the size and power of the vast Tata business empire.”
In case the talks come through, the loan would help Tata – which struck a 1.15-billion pound JLR acquisition deal with Ford in June last year – to bring the company on stream and avert 15,000 lay-offs.
Citing sources familiar to the proceedings, the newspaper said that the materialization of the delicate stage talks largely depended on JLR’s ability to provide satisfactory loan security. It clarified that though the British government might assure 75 percent repayment of a 340-million pound loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB); for the remaining part of the loan amount, JLR would have to raise its assets as security.
Although the loan received the EIB directors’ approval last week, the funds cannot be extended to JLR till the time the conditions pertaining to the state endorsement have been met with. In principle, Tata is supposed to have consented to an additional 100-million pound investment together with the re-financing.
Tata Group-owned British car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has entered into the advanced stages of talks with the British government and banks on a loan of £800 million (Rs 5,840 crore), which could help the company on stream and save 15,000 jobs.
According to reports, talks were at a delicate stage and depended upon whether the Midlands-based car manufacturer could give enough security to the administration and a syndicate led by Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds for the loans needed.
The reports added that Tata is understood to have agreed technically to make investment of another 100 million pounds together with the refinancing.
The administration has asked the company to provide security in return for assuring repayment of a 340 million pounds loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Directors of the EIB sanctioned the loan during the last week but the funds cannot be given to Jaguar until the required conditions of the state underwriting are prepared.
Tata purchased Jaguar Land Rover from Ford in June 2008 for 1.15 billion pounds.
At that time, the group was money-making but sales broke up as the banking crisis intensified.
In March, Jaguar sales also remained weak, and slumped 30% as against the corresponding period of the last year, while Land Rover sales were down 37%.
Thursday, R. Sampathkumar signed a check for 3,809 rupees ($78) and ordered his first car: a Tata Nano. Bookings for the ultracheap car, which retails for 100,000 rupees ($2,050) plus tax and transport fees, opened Thursday across India.
Sampathkumar, who is 30 years old and single, makes about 20,000 rupees a month ($410) as a goldsmith and says he wants a Nano for “status.” “Automatically, women will come forward,” he said, grinning.
Dozens gathered Thursday to gawk at the silver Nano sitting on a red platform with pink satin skirting at the Tata dealership in Coimbatore, a mid-sized manufacturing hub in southern India. Two DJ’s blasted Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin and Madonna songs, while college kids snapped photos of the snub-nosed car on their cell phones.
Despite the festivities, analysts say Nano sales won’t do much in the short term to help debt-strapped Tata Motors, which is facing falling sales and is in talks with banks to refinance a $2 billion loan it took out to buy Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford last year. Vaishali Jajoo, auto analyst at Mumbai’s Angel Broking, estimated that even if Tata Motors manages to sell 250,000 Nanos a year, it will only add 3 percent to the company’s total revenues.
Production constraints mean Sampathkumar won’t get his new Nano until July, at the earliest. Violent farmer protests forced Tata to relocate at the last minute a factory that was to exclusively build Nanos, and the replacement won’t be operational before year’s end.
Customers who want to buy the Nano must pay 300 rupees for an application form, then pay the entire cost of the car or get financing from one of 18 banks Tata Motors made special arrangements with. Tata will accept orders until April 25 and then randomly select 100,000 people who will get the first shipment of vehicles.
Everyone else will have to wait. Tata will pay interest on booking deposits: 8.5 percent for people who have to wait one to two years to get their Nano, and 8.75 percent for those who hold out longer.
Tata spokesman Debasis Ray said the company would not release data on the number of orders until after the process closed, but added that “the signs are encouraging.” He said 300,000 people had visited Tata’s 400 showrooms across the country since the car went on display April 1.
In the last two weeks, the Nano Web site has gotten 20 million hits, he said. K. Thamilarasu, the divisional sales manager for Tata Motors in Coimbatore, said 21 people paid for the car in full at his dealership Thursday.
Another 19 made downpayments for financing arrangements. “I have been in this field three decades,” Thamilarasu said.
“This is the first time we are noticing a revolution.” Rajeswari Nandagopal, a teacher, paid 300 rupees for a booking form because she wants to buy a Nano for her son, 17, who currently rides a motorbike.
“These days going on two-wheelers is a great risk,” she said. J. Rathimasawamy, 70, a retired schoolmaster, said he sold his Maruti WagonR two months ago because he wants to buy a Nano.
“It’s the cheapest,” he said. Rathimasawamy, a wiry man with white hair and a dusty pair of flip-flops, took a bus from his home 25 miles (40 kilometers) away to buy a booking form.
Vijayakumar Jayabal, 50, a policeman who earns 12,000 rupees ($246) a month, said he wants to buy a Nano because he can’t squeeze his family of four onto his motorbike. “We only fit three people maximum,” he said.
London, Apr. 3 (ANI): Tata, the Indian owners of Jaguar Land Rover, are seeking 781 million pounds in Government and European loans to safeguard the company’s future.
Jaguar Land Rover is one of a number of companies looking to tap into the 2.3 billion pounds aid package promised by Lord Mandelson.
A spokesman insisted that it was seeking loans, which would be repaid, to fund the next generation of environmentally more friendly cars.
Beleaguered car manufacturers, who have been battered by the dramatic slump in demand in the latter half of last year, say action has to be taken to safeguard the 800,000 jobs supported by the industry.
They are also pushing for a scrappage scheme, which would see the owners of cars more than nine years old receiving a 2, 000 pound grant towards the purchase of a new replacement, The Telegraph reports.
In the case of Jaguar Land Rover, it means maintaining production at Halewood in Merseyside as well as Solihull and Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands. (ANI)
London, Mar. 27 (ANI): A Sri Lankan-origin postmaster, who refused to serve non-English speaking customers and was sacked, has said he has no regret over the stand he took.
Bosses of Deva Kumarasiri, 40, told him that his “services were no longer needed”.
The decision has sparked fury among Deva’s supporters. Deva declares: “I believe what I did was right. I don’t regret it.”
Deva had asked his employment agency for a transfer following threats from local Muslims. He was moved to the city’s predominantly white Netherfield area, and fours days later he was given the boot.
“The agency gave no reason, but it’s safe to say my stand has cost me my livelihood. I’ve a wife, two daughters and a mortgage to support. Because I’ve no contract, I was effectively self-employed, so have no rights,” he said.
Deva, who came to the UK 18 years ago, added: “Anyone who doesn’t make an effort to learn English doesn’t want to integrate. If people come to live in this country they should fully embrace British culture.”
Now, he has had thousands of messages of support to his website, www.britishnessforever.co.uk
“I must have struck a chord with the nation. The vast, vast majority of people agree with my stance,” he said.
His employers, Bradford-based Newrose Personnel Ltd, declined to comment. So did Royal Mail.
But Derek Clark, UKIP Euro MP for the East Midlands, said: “It’s a disgrace. He hasn’t misbehaved, or been short-changing customers. He was simply trying to help these people fit in. I’m very angry for him.”
Deva, who flies the Union Flag at his house and drives a British-built Land Rover, now hopes to buy his own post office
“I would still refuse to serve non-English speaking customers. I’m passionate about Britain,” he said. (ANI)
London, Mar 25 (ANI): Ratan Tata, head of Tata Motors, which bought Jaguar Land Rover for more than one billion pounds, has said that the JLR may face huge damages unless the British Government stumps up 500 million pounds worth of loan guarantees.
The group is not looking for a cash hand out, but needs government backing to squeeze much-needed working capital out of the UK’s frozen banking systems, Sky News quoted Tata, as saying.
Without the guarantees, the company’s massive research and development programmes will suffer, with a knock-on effect on its long-term future.
“If the attitude is to see who blinks first, then the damage is going to be quite devastating. What we have asked for is not a bailout. What we have asked for is help from the Government to facilitate commercial loans, because the banking system has come to a halt,” Tata said.
The group needs the money to run its day-to-day business, for its 400million pounds-per-year research programme and for the 800million pounds five-year product development plan, The Independent reported.
The company has been asking for help from the Government since before Christmas, but to no avail. The Department for Business said yesterday that it is still in talks with JLR about its long-term plans, but will not get involved in the day-to-day financing of the business.
JLR is one of the major manufacturers looking closely at its eligibility under the scheme. But the funds are only accessible for the research and development of low-carbon vehicles, and cannot be used for simple working capital requirements. (ANI)
London, Mar.12 (ANI): The British Government has offered a grant of up to 27 million pounds to TATA-owned Jaguar Land Rover for the production of a new ‘green’ car.
According to a Sky News report, the company will make a decision later this year on whether to go ahead with the 400 million pound project at its factory at Halewood on Merseyside.
The car will be based on Land Rover’s LRX Concept vehicle.
Shown at the Detroit Show last year, the car would be the smallest, lightest and most efficient the company has ever produced.
Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover, said: “We welcome the Government’s support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production.”
Around 2,000 workers are employed at Halewood.
The plant produces the Land Rover Freelander 2 and Jaguar X-Type.
The Government said the aid would be taken from the Grant for Business Investment scheme, which is separate from the 2.3 billion pound Automotive Assistance Programme being discussed at a Government seminar for manufacturers and supply chain companies.
Business secretary Peter Mandelson said: “The Government is fully committed to supporting the UK automotive industry as it moves to a lower carbon future. This project aims to design and build a greener car in the UK, safeguarding vital skills and technologies.” (ANI)
London, Mar 7 (ANI): Former Special Air Service commander in Afghanistan has condemned the British government for the “unnecessary deaths” of four soldiers who were killed when their Snatch Land Rover hit a roadside bomb.
The Scotsman newspaper quoted Major Sebastian Morley as saying that the government has “blood on its hands”.
He claimed that the Whitehall officials and military commanders repeatedly ignored his warnings regarding the killings of the troops if they continued to use the “unsafe” vehicles.
The 40-year-old commander resigned after the deaths of Corporal Sarah Bryant, the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan, and three of her male colleagues when their Snatch hit an anti-tank mine in Helmand province in June.
Major Morley blamed Quentin Davies, the minister for defence equipment and support, for telling an “unacceptable lie” in the wake of the deaths, that commanders had a choice of vehicles to use. (ANI)
London, Mar.6 (ANI): Workers at TATA-owned car giant Jaguar Land Rover have voted to accept a shorter working week and a one-year pay freeze to avoid compulsory job cuts.
Members of Unite and the GMB unions accepted the deal – 70 percent to 30 percent – after being urged to vote in favour by union officials.
The deal was thrashed out between union leaders and the company, which has cut around 1,800 agency, production and management jobs in recent months because of the downturn in the motor industry.
Workers at the company’s sites, including Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside, took part in the ballot on the deal, which is aimed at saving up to 70 million pounds in costs.
The deal involves cutting the working week to four days, while pay will be frozen for one year in order to ensure continued production and avoid compulsory redundancies. (ANI)
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