Reuters cites “two people with direct knowledge of the matter” who are saying that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chery Auto are working out the final details of a deal to start a joint venture for making JLR-cars in China.

Parties have asked the Chinese central government for approval and aim to announce the forming of the joint venture at the Beijing Auto Show in April.

Well, we will see. JLR and Chery have been talking and talking for over a year now and the Chinese government has just announced it will be much more strict in approving new foreign investment in the auto sector. It seems to me the JV ain’t a sure thing just yet.

It seems Chery is working on developing two luxury-brands. The first one is Qoros which is meant for export to Europe. The second one is a possible new sub-brand which will sell Jaguar-developed cars under the Chery brand in China. Reuters reports on the Jaguar-story:

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has agreed in principle with China’s Chery Automobile to develop a luxury car based on its Jaguar models that may carry a Chery or a new marque in order to win Chinese government approval for a manufacturing venture, a Chinese newspaper reported.

Britain-based JLR, a subsidiary of Tata Motors Ltd had previously explored cooperation with Chinese partners, including Great Wall Motor Co Ltd but made little headway.

“The National Development and Reform Commission NDRC.L made it very clear that in order to get approval for the project to go ahead, the two sides must have substantial cooperation, not just adding new capacity,” the 21st Century Business Herold said, citing an unnamed source.

The NDRC has the power to approve or block major foreign joint venture projects.

A proposed tie-up between Chery and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd to make Subaru vehicles in China hit regulatory snags because the deal was ruled to lack substance, according to the source.

The newspaper said a car co-developed by JLR and Chery would carry either a Chery logo or a joint venture logo and the two sides might also collaborate on green vehicles.

Chery and JLR executives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Via: Reuters.

Jaguar Land Rover is awaiting a response from the National Development and Reform Commission regarding a request to develop a potential Chinese joint venture, according to Jaguar Land Rover President Bob Grace. Media reports said the company Jaguar has chosen is very likely to be Chery.

Both Jaguar and its partner have submitted requests to the NDRC. A response is expected by next April. Some in the industry doubt that the proposal may gain official approval, as JLR’s key products are large-engine-sized vehicles, which go against the Chinese trend for smaller and more fuel efficient cars.

Land Rover’s Chinese sales this year have exceeded 33,600 units, 60 percent higher than last year. Meanwhile, JLR’s sales have decreased in its home market of Europe and across the world, with the manufacturer facing increasing competition from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volvo. The manufacturer has sold over 40,000 vehicles worldwide so far this year.

Via: ChinaDaily.

Tata Motors’ Jaguar and Land Rover said on Wednesday it sold 48 percent more vehicles in China in the first half compared to the same period a year earlier.

From January to June, sales came to 18,598 units, up from 12,472 a year ago, the company said in a statement. Land Rover deliveries rose 50 percent to 16,322 units during the period, with sales of Jaguar up 44 percent to 2,186 units, it added. Via: Reuters.

Jaguar is jagging out a special edition of the XJ for the Chinese market. It is called the XJ Panorama Business Edition and comes with a special white paint and loads of goodies. Only one hundred will be made for 968.000 yuan. Jag is making the market hot by requesting a 50.000 yuan deposit from prospective buyers. The XP Panorama Business Edition is powered by the 3.0 V6, no V8 available in this one.

An executive from Great Wall Motor Co Ltd said his company is engaged in discussion with Tata Motor’s Jaguar and Land Rover unit. The two companies may cooperate on business in the future, the China Business News reported.

“Senior executives of Jaguar and Land Rover came and visited the Great Wall Motor plant on Feb 14, but the final decision of a potential tie-up has not been reached yet,” a Great Wall Motor senior executive told the reporter. Great Wall Motor Co is China’s largest manufacturer of sport utility vehicles.

Jaguar and Land Rover are among a very few top-line global brands that do not have manufacturing arrangements in China. While other top vehicle makers are racking up stellar sales, Jaguar and Land Rover have been looking for the right marching path into the Chinese auto market. They have been negotiating with Chinese auto makers and local governments since last year, the newspaper reported.

If the British luxury brand starts manufacturing in China, prices will drop, which could attract more Chinese consumers. However, the increasingly stringent auto policies may pose greater risks to foreign brands which enter the Chinese luxury car market, the newspaper reported.

Via: ChinaDaily.

British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover registered blistering growth in 2010 as both brands set new sales records in China. Deliveries of Jaguar increased 50 percent to 2,655 units last year while sales of Land Rover more than doubled to 23,459 units.

Bob Grace, president of Jaguar Land Rover China, said the company knows the importance of the Chinese market and promised continued expansion of dealer networks to bring the best products and services to local customers.

Just 10 days ago Jaguar opened its flagship showroom in Beijing. Located in Chaoyang district, the 550-square-meter facility is Jaguar’s largest premier showroom in the country. It incorporates carmaker’s latest global standards and provides customized services to buyers.

Zong Ming, general manager of Beijing Yanyingjie Auto Sales and Service Co Ltd, the authorized dealer partner of Jaguar that built the showroom, said the newly launched Beijing outlet is likely to sell about 400 cars this year.

Another Jaguar showroom by Yanyingjie is set to open soon in Tianjin, where the company expects to sell about 200 Jaguars this year, Zong said.

Jaguar Land Rover now has about 60 dealer outlets in the country. By the end of this year, the company hopes to have 100, he said.

Along with the expanding dealer network, Jaguar Land Rover set up a training academy in Shanghai last July, its first in the country. Another is planned for Beijing in the first half of this year, the company said.

Jaguar Land Rover also has parts distribution centers in Beijing and Suzhou. A new warehouse will be built in Guangzhou early this year to respond more rapidly to after-sales demands from dealers and customers, the company said.

China is now the third-largest market for Land Rover and the fourth-biggest for Jaguar.

Media reports said that Jaguar Land Rover has plans for local production in China and has been in talks with potential Chinese partners for the past few months.

Grace admitted that the company is “doing some evaluation work”. But he said “the project is still very confidential” and declined to offer details.

Via: ChinaDaily.

TATA brings the new XJS to China and it does not come cheap: 2.498.000 yuan. TATA decided not to bother about 6-cilinders, the only available engines are the 510hp supercharged V8 and the naturally aspirated V8 with 385hp. Jaguar is relatively new in China and faces an uphill fight against Audi, Benz and BMW, which all do have cheaper V6′s on offer.

Jaguar China recently announced it will open two more dealerships in Shanghai and Beijing, in an effort to create a comprehensive dealership network in China, the National business daily reported Tuesday.

In addition, the British luxury-car brand plans to establish collaborative service networks in all major cities in the East China region, and will continue talks with various premium-car brands in the country on possible cooperation.Jaguar sold 2,155 vehicles in the Chinese market in the first nine months this year, up 71 percent from a year earlier. The robust sales momentum has propelled China to its fourth largest market, behind Germany, where more than 3,000 Jaguar cars were sold in 2009. The carmaker’s top two markets are the U.K. and the US, according to a report from Inside line.

Last year, Jaguar Land Rover’s export vaule to the world’s biggest auto market accounted for more than 14% of UK’s total export value to China, marking that the company has become one of the three leading independent exporters in the United Kingdom, in terms of export amount to China.

President of Jaguar Land Rover China, Bob Grace, said the company will constantly increase its investment in the China market and consolidate Jaguar’s brand awareness among Chinese consumers, for whom the company hopes to provide its best products, the most remarkable brand experience as well as the most professional luxury services.

Via: GlobalTimes.

Jaguar is working on a long wheelbase XF for the Chinese chauffeur-driven market, said Tata Motor’s chief executive, Carl-Peter Forster, in an interview with German magazine Automobilwoche. The XFL(?) will compete with many similair stretched machinery for the Chinese market: the Audi A6L, BMW 530L, Benz E300L and Volvo S80L.

Jaguar so, is very late. All mentioned cars are furthermore made in China, the XF is not and the XFL will not. Jaguar is trying to find a partner for building cars in China but it will take years before the first ‘Jag’ rolls of the Chinese line. The XFL will therefore be more expensive compared to competition.

Mr Forster didn’t call a time for the XFL’s debut so it won’t be soon, good guess is the Shanghai Autoshow in April next year.

(crappy Photoshop by me, I added 15cm behind the B-pillar)