The Associated Press
GENEVA | Indian automaker Tata Motors and a top Ford Motor Co. executive say discussions on selling Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata are still on.
A Tata Motors Ltd. spokesman said Tuesday the Indian automaker sees "no roadblocks" in the way of a deal. Lewis Booth, executive vice president of Ford's European units, said no announcement will be made at this week's Geneva Auto Show, but he also said there are "no major roadblocks" in the way of a sale, and he expects the sale to be completed by the end of the second quarter.
"These are complex, detailed discussions," Booth said in a speech to the Merrill Lynch Global Auto Conference.
Cash-hungry Ford has been looking to sell Jaguar and Land Rover for months to help fund the turnaround of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. Booth said Ford and Tata have made "significant progress" in their talks.
Booth said Ford wanted to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to a buyer who was committed to the brands and to their business plan, both to protect workers and because Ford expects to continue supplying parts to both brands.
"Jaguar/Land Rover is reliant on a lot of Ford parts and will be for a long time," he said. "We're going to be partners with whoever buys Jaguar and Land Rover, not in a financial sense, but as a supplier."
Booth said Ford will leave Jaguar and Land Rover solidly profitable. Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which includes Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, made a profit of $504 million in 2007.
Booth also reiterated that Volvo isn't for sale and that the company is focusing on returning the unit to profitability. He said Ford is studying whether to build some Volvos in the United States because of the relative weakness of the dollar to the euro, but he said the cost of moving business to the U.S. could be prohibitive.
He also said it makes sense for Ford to keep Volvo, since the brand shares so many parts and underpinnings with Ford cars.
"Jaguar and Land Rover really share little with mainstream Ford cars," he said. "They have more in common with each other than they do with Ford."
Ford shares fell 12 cents to $6.06 in midday trading Tuesday.
