Tata Motors & Land Rover, jointly developing an entry-level Premium SUV!

Ever since Tata motors took over the ownership of jaguar and land rover, the Indian automobile fraternity had been expecting a jointly developed car from the trio, but nothing really happened until now. After a really long 6 years of owning JLR, Tata motors has finally decided to work in collaboration with the British brands in order to develop an entry level premium SUV.

tata-motors-land-rover-freelander2-fortuner-q5-suv-india-frontviewTata cars with Land Rover design – FrontView

Tata Motors has been working with Jaguar Land Rover to develop an entry level premium SUV. This SUV has been codenamed, ‘Q5’ and will be positioned to compete with the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Ford Endeavour and the Honda CR-V. This all new SUV will be loosely based on the current gen Land Rover Freelander. Tata and JLR have a combined team of around 45 engineers already working on the project, and the project study with regard to the Q5 SUV has almost been completed.

This collaboration will bring out the best from both JLR and Tata. The development of the Q5 SUV will feature Jaguar Land Rover’s groundbreaking engineering feats, new technology development skills and Tata’s Low cost production techniques all rolled into one awesome package. This new collaboration would also result in the sharing of parts among both the brands, and also the sharing of expertise.

Another crucial factor will be the badging of the product. Land Rover enjoys a premium position in the market and hence, having a Land Rover badge on an entry level SUV will bring down the premium, high class feel of the green oval. On the other hand, having a Tata Badge will also hamper the sales figures of the SUV when launched, because Tata has a problem selling premium products, case in point, the Tata Aria, which despite being the flagship crossover from Tata, has failed miserably. The only way this will work out for both Tata and Land rover, is to jointly badge the upcoming SUV.

tata-motors-land-rover-freelander2-fortuner-q5-suv-india-rearviewTata cars with Land Rover design – RearView

The Upcoming SUV in question, the Q5 will be around 50-85% different from the Land Rover Freelander, and will feature a lot more of locally manufactured parts as, most of the part manufacturing will be outsourced to local vendors. But the good thing about this collaboration is that, despite most of it being manufactured locally, the Land Rover engineers involved in the project will make sure that the Q5 will carry Land Rover DNA and that it stays true to Land Rover levels of fit and finish.

The SUV will be offered with a 5+2 seating option and the motor that will be powering the Q5 will be an all new engine which will be jointly developed, and will also be used to power models from both the manufacturers in the future. We expect the Q5 to be priced in the range of Rs. 22-25 Lakhs. A land rover badged product at this price will definitely send the competitors running for their money.

 

Also see – Land Rover to help Tata Motors build better cars

 

Source – Economic Times

Image Credit – CarWale