JLR To "Nearly Double" Vehicle Selection

The word from the top brass at Tata Motors is "not enough selection" so they're moving toward a whole new line-up of vehicles coming soon.

Tata Motors is doing just fine, thanks. Coming in at No. 241 on the Industry Week 1000 list, Tata Motors Ltd. nearly doubled its revenue after acquiring Jaguar Land Rover in 2008. This, after posting a loss of nearly $530 million on slow Jaguar Land Rover sales in 2009. But the company, which reported year-end 2010 results on March 31, said the Jaguar Land Rover business rebounded by posting a profit in the latest fiscal year.

CEO Carl-Peter Forster plans on moving fast to capitalize. “Over the next few years we plan to nearly double our vehicle selection,” he told Automobilwoche, a German sister publication of Automotive News.

Together with Ralf Speth, the new JLR Chief, he took inventory of the brands, and found some gaps he’d like to fill.

“We didn’t actually have to start at zero, but there were many gaps in the portfolio,” Speth said. “We had to initially consider what the brands should look like and what models we should have. We are building additional variations on existing models, we are launching new model lines and we are investing in new engines.”

So far they’re not doing too poorly on that score. Consumers Reports is just out with their new findings on the LR4, saying "A new 5.0-liter V8 dramatically improved performance, as well as fuel economy. Towing performance is effortless. While it’s still obvious that the LR4 is a big and tall box handling-wise, tweaks have made it feel more responsive and controlled. Compared to the $57,435 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ or $56,555 Lincoln MKT we recently tested, the $54,010 LR4 with the HSE Plus package oddly seems a bit like a bargain.”

Add that to the sleek new Range Rover Evoque – the smallest and lightest Range Rover yet – and you have the makings of an exciting new direction for Land Rover.