Great Wall confirms contact with Jaguar and Land Rover, mode of partnership still undetermined

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An executive with Great Wall confirmed that Jaguar and Land Rover are in contact with them on partnership, but the mode of partnership is still undetermined.

Jaguar and Land Rover, lagging behind in the trend of founding joint ventures in China, feels it urgent to settle down in China. They have been in talks with China’s state-owned automakers and local government to seek the best way to enter Chinese market since last year.

News on Jaguar and Land Rover’s contacting with JMC, Geely, Changfeng, and Chery come out one after another. There are even media reports saying that Chery has made a thorough partnership plan with Jaguar and Land Rover, involving local production, independent R&D and redevelopment of local brands.

However, Chery’s idea seems off the beat with Jaguar and Land Rover. According to the plan of Tata, parent of Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata will first find a local partner for parts assembly, so as to ensure the genuineness of its two luxury brands.

Jaguar and Land Rover turns to China’s top SUV maker Great Wall when its partnership talk with Chery has not reached an agreement.

The executive with Great Wall said that Great Wall focuses on the development of independent self-owned brands and does not rule out the opportunity of partnering with foreign automakers.

However, if Tata just wants to borrow Great Wall’s production capacity, it will differ greatly from Great Wall’s original intention of partnership.

Jaguar and Land Rover China confirms Tata does have localization plans for its Land Rover brand, and it’s now in talks with several companies. There is no specific schedule.

The most important thing now is its partnership mode. The more and more stringent policy may bring greater policy risks to the latecomer of China’s luxury auto market.