Jaguar dealers in the US aren’t too happy with the fact that the brand is soon going to be in the hands of an Indian company, be it Tata Motors or Mahindra & Mahindra.
MUMBAI: Jaguar dealers in the US aren’t too happy with the fact that the brand is soon going to be in the hands of an Indian company, be it Tata Motors or Mahindra & Mahindra.
Media reports suggest that Tata is close to bagging the deal and the only fly in the ointment is the Jaguar retail fraternity.
Interestingly, though, there has been no opposition from the plant unions in the UK who possibly are a lot more familiar with the Tata name following the acquisition of Corus and, earlier, Tetley.
Tata Motors also had a tie-up with MG Rover to market the Indica in the UK and parts of Europe. This was a short-lived honeymoon. Rover collapsed and was acquired by Nanjing Auto of China.
What then is the issue with the Jaguar dealers? Is it the fact that neither Tatas nor M&M is a global entity in the field of automobiles?
MD and CEO of Future Brands, Santosh Desai believes that the concern is legitimate. “The market operates on shallow perceptions. If this was an IT company which was being acquired, then there would’ve been no problems.
But this is a top end luxury brand. If Indian companies acquire Italian couture brands for example, then the world will ask questions. The sensitivity we are showing to the issue shows the impatience we have to be accepted at the global level.”
However, CEO of Super Brands, Anmol Dar disagrees. “I hate saying this but most Americans don’t know too much about India. Most people don’t even know who their own defense secretary is.
Expecting any different a reaction is probably expecting too much of the ordinary American, even American dealers. Managing the brands is not a big issue for Indian managers from either Mahindra or Tata who are extremely good in that respect.”
Both companies entered into joint ventures with big global names in India when the gates were thrown open to foreign carmakers in the 1990s but these were brief marriages.
Tata Motors began manufacturing its own small car, Indica, a decade ago while M&M focused on sport-utility vehicles with the Scorpio. M&M then got back into the car business through a joint venture with Renault while Tata followed suit with Fiat.
As experts say, going up the value chain is imperative to take on the world and this is where understanding the processes that go into making top-end cars (like Jaguar and Land Rover) is so crucial. Tata Motors wants a greater global presence in cars and this acquisition is a big step forward in this direction.
This holds good for M&M too which, incidentally, is gearing up to introduce the Scorpio in the US.
It is not as if the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover, be it Tata Motors or M&M, is dying to put his stamp on these models.
Both Ferrari and Maserati steer clear of any association with their owner, Fiat. Similarly, Jaguar and Land Rover could change ownership hands but will remain exclusive brands.
India was late in entering global automobile markets simply because it was a protected economy for decades post-Independence.
However, the country has today become a global small car hub for the likes of Hyundai and Maruti. To that extent, the ‘Made-in-India’ tag is gradually gaining ground.
g_murali@dnaindia.net, n_john@dnaindia.net
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