Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday congratulated the Tata group for its takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover car brands stating that has put the country in high esteem.
“I extend my congratulations to the Tata group for acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover car brands and the entire corporate world as they have held India’s private sector flag high,” Nath said during an inaugural address of an industry conference.
The minister said the acquisition speaks in abundance about the competency and progressiveness of the Indian companies amidst an economic slowdown.
”The Indian companies have shown to the global business how efficient and progressive they were even in the midst of a slowdown. The most important thing is that the world is recognizing our credibility,” he said.
Ford Motor Co, the world’s third-largest automaker, agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors Ltd for less than half what it paid for the two brands as demand for the luxury vehicles drops. Tata Motors, the India’s biggest truckmaker, will pay $2.3 billion, while Ford will pay about $600 million at closing to the Jaguar Land Rover pension funds, the companies said on Wednesday.
Ford is ending its investment in UK brands as the US housing slump and job losses curb demand for models such as the $80,000 Jaguar XK. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company, which lost $15.3 billion in the past two years, bought Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion and Land Rover in 2000 for $2.73 billion.