Future Jaguar and Land Rover models could share a platform with a Tata, makers of the world’s cheapest car and owner of the British marques.
Tata recently revealed the Nexon concept (pictured) at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo this February, a compact SUV with futuristic proportions and Mazda RX-8-like pillarless suicide doors. A production version is slated for launch in 2017.
This week, managing director of Tata’s Australian distributor, Darren Bowler, revealed to Drive that the Nexon’s real story was that it was the first vehicle built on a common platform engineered to underpin a compact Jaguar and the next Range Rover Evoque.
Tata, known mostly for producing the sub-$3,000 Nano for the Indian market, is in need of expanding their portfolio, while JLR is seeking to move downmarket with more affordable, entry-level luxury offerings. However, while Tata and JLR cars would share platforms and possibly engines, Bowler said that there would be a strict demarcation between brands and that this is not rebadging.
It was also suggested that JLR’s new Ingenium family of 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinders, developed for the Jaguar XE and a future Land Rover, could find homes in Tatas as well. Bowler added, “You’re going to see in the future a lot of sharing of technologies and platforms over time, but you won’t see a JLR with a Tata badge on it or a Tata with a Jaguar badge on it or a Land Rover badge on it.”
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