Jaguar Land Rover struts its stuff

• Source: Global Times
• [08:24 January 30 2011]
• Comments

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co produces vehicles with Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co.

According to Chinese regulations, if a foreign automaker wants to produce vehicles in China, it has to do it through a joint venture company with Chinese producers.

While a foreign automaker can, at the most, pair up with two Chinese partners, the number of automakers a Chinese automaker can choose is unlimited.

 However, too many partnerships might divert the energy and resources of a Chinese automaker, hindering their ability to focus on a program with a newcomer, whose sales volume is much smaller.

The UK luxury automaker sold less than 30,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles last year in China, compared with 227,938 units sold by Volkswagen's luxury division Audi, the largest luxury automaker in China.

Jia believes the lack of Chinese automakers well versed in producing super-luxury vehicles - like those made by Jaguar Land Rover - will also be a headache.

Another industry watcher, Jin Rongsheng, deputy general manager of Sinotrust International, believes SAIC Motor Corp might be a better choice for Jaguar Land Rover considering SAIC's operational capabilities.

"SAIC has sought to enter the luxury segment of the auto industry for a long time," Jin said.