1988 Land Rover Range Rover on 2040-cars

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Tata Motors posts quarterly loss and warns of inflationary costs

BENGALURU — Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) owner Tata Motors reported a quarterly loss on Monday that was bigger than expected and warned of rising inflationary costs. Automakers worldwide have been roiled by chip shortages, supply chain disruptions, COVID-19 restrictions and rising raw material prices after a short-lived recovery towards the end of 2020. "Demand remains strong despite near term concerns ... the semiconductor supply situation is improving gradually whilst inflation worries persist," Tata Motors said in an exchange filing. The company expects chip shortages at JLR to continue through 2022 as suppliers gradually ramp up production, and is also engaging directly with chip manufacturers to secure supply longer-term supplies for the Range Rover maker, it said. Tata Motors' consolidated net loss came in at 15.16 billion rupees ($203.23 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 29.06 billion rupees a year earlier, when an easing of pandemic-related restrictions led to a pick-up in sales. However, the recovery was short-lived as acute semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions delayed production, and Tata Motors slipped back to losses. For the reported quarter, analysts had expected the Mumbai-based company to report a loss of 3.30 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Tata Motors' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin, a key measure of profitability, was 10.2% for the quarter, above estimates of 9.3%. Total revenue from operations for the quarter fell 4.5% to 722.29 billion rupees, below estimates of 775.93 billion rupees. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Earnings/Financials Jaguar Land Rover

Queen Elizabeth II was a longtime automotive enthusiast

Since driver's licenses, license plates, and passports were issued in her own name, Queen Elizabeth II didn't need them to drive and travel. She started combining the two just before she turned 19, joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) transport division in 1945 for vehicle mechanic training. She wanted to help the British effort during World War II and would drive an ambulance — one that, theoretically, she could also fix if it broke down. The war ended before she graduated as an Honorary Junior Commander, the other ATS members dubbing her Princess Auto Mechanic. We donÂ’t know if she got under the hoods of the many official state vehicles and the far more numerous unofficial fleet in the royal garages, but she was still driving herself around England as late as this year. Here is a tiny selection of royal conveyances used during her 70-year reign. Gold State Coach (1762) True, she never drove this one, but a tour of every royal garage should start with the coach. King George III commissioned Samuel Butler to build it in 1760. Butler spent two years on the gilded carriage 24 feet long and more than 12 feet high. The quarters are suspended from the frame by leather straps, so occupants get tossed about even during a slow stroll, which is as fast as the eight Windsor Gray horses can pull it. It wasnÂ’t until the 1900s that King George VI rubberized the wooden wheels. Word is the queen didnÂ’t like it.   1953 Land Rover Series 1 Land Rover gave Queen ElizabethÂ’s father, King George VI, the 100th example of the 80 Series off the line in 1948. She picked up the Landie habit for herself five years later, when a 1953 Series 1 with a custom 86-inch wheelbase was part of the fleet used for her six-month tour of the Commonwealth in 1953 and 1954. That Land Rover became Ceremonial Vehicle State IV. The models above were built in Australia in 1958 as near copies of the Commonwealth tour vehicle, when Australia decided it wanted six identical versions for royal service. ItÂ’s thought the royal family went through around 30 Land Rover Series cars and Defenders since then, and many of the most common photos of her have her posing in or near one, especially the 2002 Defender built just for her. The royal family isnÂ’t finished with them, either: A current Defender 110 served as a luggage hauler for family members headed to Balmoral Castle during the queenÂ’s final days.

Tata to shed 1,100 Jaguar Land Rover jobs after coronavirus hits earnings

BENGALURU — India's Tata Motors Ltd expects to shed about 1,100 temporary jobs at Jaguar Land Rover after it raised the cost-cutting target at its luxury unit by 1 billion pounds ($1.26 billion) to ride out the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Tata Motors expects to save 5 billion pounds in costs by March 2021 at its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit, the Indian automaker's Chief Financial Officer PB Balaji said on Monday, adding 3.5 billion pounds of the savings had already been achieved. It will also reduce capital expenditure at JLR to 2.5 billion pounds for the current fiscal year, from the more than 3 billion pounds it has spent annually in previous years. "Conserving cash and prioritizing capital expenditure, and targeting investment spending to the right areas is our focus," Balaji told reporters, after the company posted a fourth quarter loss. We anticipate that up to 1,100 agency employees will be affected, a JLR spokeswoman said in a separate statement. Tata Motors is reviewing all its businesses and would consider exiting those that do not add strategic value, as part of a broader effort to save 60 billion rupees ($789 million) in its domestic business in the fiscal year to 2021. The automaker on Monday posted a consolidated fourth quarter net loss of 98.94 billion rupees, as coronavirus lockdowns across its markets ravaged sales, including at JLR. Total revenue from operations fell 27.7% to 624.93 billion rupees in the quarter, which ended March 31. JLR, which contributes the bulk of Tata Motors' revenues, reported a pre-tax loss of 501 million pounds for the period after it took a hit of 800 million pounds because of the novel coronavirus, Balaji said. He said there were signs sales were recovering in China, one of JLR's biggest markets, as well as in the United States and in Europe, with strong orders for Land Rover's sport-utility vehicle Defender and Range Rover's Evoque. JLR's boss Ralf Speth, who has led the company since 2010, will step down from his role at the end of his contract term in September. ($1 = 76.0446 Indian rupees) ($1 = 0.7954 pounds) (Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)