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Jaguar Land Rover hands Tata the biggest loss in Indian corporate history

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI — Jaguar Land Rover's owner Tata Motors Ltd stunned markets by posting the biggest-ever quarterly loss in Indian corporate history of about $4 billion on slumping China sales, sending its shares crashing as much as 30 percent. Tata Motors also warned that the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit, which brings in most of its revenue, would swing to an operating loss for the year versus an earlier projection it would break even, given weak sales at the luxury British carmaker. JLR's China retail sales were cut almost in half in the December quarter as overall demand in the world's biggest auto market contracted last year for the first time since the 1990s. The firm has also been buffeted by Brexit woes and weaker business for diesel cars that account for bulk of its sales in Europe. Tata Motors turned in a third-quarter loss of 269.93 billion rupees ($3.8 billion) on Thursday, more than half its current market capitalization of $6.1 billion, mostly due to a massive impairment at JLR. Analysts were expecting a profit. "We are now taking clear and decisive actions in JLR to step up its competitiveness, reduce costs and improve cash flows and make the business fit for the future," Chief Financial Officer PB Balaji told reporters on a conference call on Thursday. JLR has taken steps to address the slide in China sales by changing its strategy to focus on profits for dealers instead of sales and incentivising retail sales over wholesale, he said. "We are encouraged by continued demand for the refreshed Range Rover and Range Rover Sport," JLR Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam said in a statement. "With deliveries of the new Evoque due to start later this quarter, we look forward to building momentum." But analysts expect JLR to struggle to generate profit with China's economy projected to slow further this year after growth eased to its weakest pace in almost three decades in 2018. JLR's overall retail sales in January plunged 11 percent. The dour numbers prompted Tata investors to make a beeline for the exits as markets opened on Friday, with shares of the company skidding to their lowest in nine years at one point. The stock was down about 20 percent by 0720 GMT near 150 rupees, on track for its sharpest drop since 2003. At least four brokerages cut their price target for Tata Motors shares after its quarterly loss. Analysts at Jefferies pegged the stock at 250 rupees, versus an earlier target of 300 rupees, citing weak performance at JLR.

Land Rover planning SVX hardcore off-roaders

The new Special Vehicle Operations division at Jaguar Land Rover has already given us an array of ultimate wheeled creations, but it isn't quite done yet. Next, according to Car and Driver, will be a new line of SVX models. Not to be confused with the Subaru coupe from the 1990s (which also had all-wheel drive, come to think of it), Land Rover's SVX models will be hardcore off-roaders. Details are few and far between at the moment, but they're said to take inspiration from rough-terrain events like the Dakar Rally and Camel Trophy as inspiration – different from the Ford F-150 Raptor that takes its cues from the Baja 1000. Last we heard, Land Rover was planning a hardcore Defender to send the model off to pasture in high-performance style, and considering an extreme Range Rover as well. If either of those rumors materialize, they look like they'd be prime candidates for the SVX line. JLR Special Vehicle Operations has already showcased what it can do with the high-performance Range Rover Sport SVR, the luxed-up Range Rover SVAutobiography, the exclusive F-Type Project 7 and the continuation classic Lightweight E-Type. C/D confirms that further SVR models are in store to replace Jaguar's R-S performance models, while the SVX line would likely remain exclusive to Land Rover.

Driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT, and Defenders at a trickle | Autoblog Podcast #631

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Producer Christopher McGraw and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Then they take some time to update any new happenings and opinions on our long-term Subaru Forester and Volvo S60 T8 plug-in hybrid. In the news this week, the new Land Rover Defender is in short supply, and Tesla is rumored to be creating a 12-passenger shuttle for use in The Boring Company tunnels. Finally, we reach into the mailbag to help a listener replace a Mazda3 hatch with something to better match their lifestyle. Autoblog Podcast #631 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2020 Lotus Evora GT 2019 Subaru Forester long-term update 2020 Volvo S60 T8 long-term update The 2020 Land Rover Defender is in short supply Tesla may be working on 12-passenger shuttle for The Boring Co. Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.