Tata Motors has posted its first annual loss in eight years due to a significant drop in demand for vehicles from its newly acquired Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit. The Indian automaker, also known for manufacturing the world’s cheapest car (the Nano), posted a net loss of $520 million for its 2009 fiscal year, with a $504 million loss at JLR.

In the 10 months since Tata bought JLR from Ford Motor Co., the division moved just 167,000 units – compared to 246,000 units during the same 10 month period the year before.

Tata’s Vice Chairman Ravi Kant told a news conference that the automaker was continuing to search for ways to cut costs and he did not rule out job cuts and plant closures.

Tata’s fiscal calendar ended at the start of March, and Tata says JLR has posted better numbers since then.

[Source: Reuters]

After purchasing Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, and then dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the two British brands, Indian carmaker Tata is just beginning to see the light – thanks to the Chinese government. According to a report in the Business Standard, the Chinese government has just signed a deal with Tata for the purchase of 13,000 new Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles.

The deal is reportedly worth $850 million – roughly a third of what Tata paid for the two companies just two years ago.

Apparently the division of cars will be be 10,000 Land Rovers and 3,000 Jaguars, although there are not details on which specific models.

A spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said that this deal, “provides us with a solid base on which to further build our presence in this key emerging market and is particularly welcomed at this challenging time for us and the automotive industry.”

No kidding?

JLR is currently undergoing a downsizing operation that will see 450 employees let go – bringing the total to 2,000 since the economic crisis started. Compared to the industry as a whole, however, both companies have fared rather well with Land Rover posting a sales decline of 17 percent in 2008 and Jaguar actually posting an increase of 8 percent over the same period.

The two companies were  expected to take part in the $3.2 billion bailout from the British government and the European Investment Bank, however, that might not be quite so necessary now.

[Source: Business Standard]