Jaguar Land Rover sale to Peugeot Citroen ‘inevitable’ - says former chief engineer

[dutchman]

The French car maker could make a good new owner but the acquisition could prove painful



Jaguar Land Rover’s sale to PSA is inevitable - but the French car maker could make a good new owner.

That is the verdict of former Land Rover chief engineer Dr Charles Tennant, though he has also warned the acquisition could prove painful in terms of the cuts that would almost certainly come in the wake of it.

Mr Tennant spoke to CoventryLive after reports emerged suggesting Jaguar Land Rover is on the brink of being sold to PSA.

The PSA Group, which owns the Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall-Opel brands, is poised to step-in and take over the Coventry car maker according to the Press Association.

A Press Association report says leaked information suggests a sale of Jaguar Land Rover could be imminent.

Reacting to the mounting speculation Mr Tennant, who was also a director of Tata Motors’ European Technical Centre, said such a move should not come as a surprise.

He said: “This comes as no surprise at all and we should not take any notice of either Tata Motors or Jaguar Land Rover denials at all.

“They are obliged to deny it until the ink is dry on the contract.

“I advised Lord Bhattacharyya - who until his sad passing was himself advising Ratan Tata on Jaguar Land Rover strategy - last year that Jaguar Land Rover was in a death spiral of its own making, and that Tata would need to fund massive losses and investment now or sell up.

“Well the falling sales and losses at Jaguar Land Rover have just escalated since then and Tata have been very quiet whilst considering what best to do for them.

“It is now inevitable that Jaguar Land Rover will be sold off, and I think Peugeot could be a very cohesive new owner."

He said: “ Jaguar Land Rover have been gradually releasing information about the Land Rover Defender launch for next year, even claiming that its late entry into the market place is a good thing to make sure they get it right.

“I don’t know of many auto companies that actually stop making a product for four years before the replacement is ready.

“Also, it is to be noted that the most recent vehicle - the Range Rover Evoque - still does not have plug-in hybrid or electric options because it has not been designed to fully accommodate electrification until 2025.

“In addition the updated Jaguar XE is still only a one horse solution, with no estate, or coupe derivatives to bolster future sales.

“This is all about a new product introduction process that has failed in areas of product planning, investment priorities, robust product development, manufacturing capacity planning, and quality.”

[rebbonk]

L/R is the jewel, Jaguar is a liability.

I'd be sacking the management for letting the company get into the dreadful state it is.

[Melisandre]

So another EU country taking our jobs and manufacturers reminds me of the German banks around wwii buying up all the main industries.

The government should of stepped to help out Jaguar before it was sold off years ago .