By IANS
London : Tata’s purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover will give a “tremendous boost” to the West Midlands region – home to five factories and design centres producing the prestigious British cars, the head of the region’s development agency said.
“Not only is it reassuring news for the workforce and their families, it also means that the high profile Jaguar and Land Rover brands synonymous with the region will continue to be promoted on the world stage,” said Mick Laverty, chief executive at Advantage West Midlands.
Tata Motors acquired the two luxury brands off Ford for $2.3 billion Wednesday.
Production units of the two cars directly employ some 16,000 workers, but when ancillaries are taken into account the figure reaches 40,000.
“Tata have worked diligently over the past few months to establish the precise takeover details of the company they are buying – and Advantage West Midlands has left them in no doubt about the world-class region they are buying in to.
“The West Midlands is the home of the UK automotive industry. We are also a world beater in terms of research and development as well as design. And we will continue to build a strong working relationship with Tata to help them fulfil their aims and ambitions.
“The West Midlands is clearly a region that Indian companies feel they can do business with,” Laverty added.
There are some 30 Indian businesses in this industrial region, more than double the number in 2006. These include the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and the Birla Group.
The Midlands, one of nine regions in England, has shown a keen interest in Indian companies for some time. Recognising the increasing desires and abilities of the Indian businesses to expand globally, the Midlands set up a representative office in India over five years ago in order to attract Indian investment.