By now, the automotive world is well aware that India’s Tata Motors is now the proud owners of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, but what was missed in the fine print was that Tata also acquired the rights to three other British marques in the package deal.
According to Automotive News, when Jaguar and Land Rover exchanged hands from Ford to Tata, so did the rights to Daimler — a nameplate affixed to the bumpers of high-end Jaguars since 1960 — Rover and Lanchester.
As you may recall, China’s SAIC purchased the assets of MG Rover in 2005, but BMW sold the rights to the Rover name to Ford to protect the Land Rover brand. SAIC now produces Rovers under the Roewe nameplate in China.
The Lanchester nameplate — which is also linked to Jaguar — hasn’t been used since 1956.
It’s unlikely that Tata will produce any vehicles under the British nameplates, but it could license their use to alleviate some of the $2.3 billion in loans it just took on.
Did you like it? 4.6/5 (30)
Wow, Tata is really expanding their portfolio! What’s next on their shopping list? 🚗💼
Why would Tata buy brands that they aren’t planning to produce cars under? 🤔
Interesting move by Tata. Anyone know if they plan to revive any of these historic marques?
I’ve always loved the elegance of Daimler. It would be a shame if it’s just left unused. 😢
Can someone explain why Tata would take on more debt for these brands? Seems risky to me.
Is it too much to hope for a new Lanchester model? 😍
Rover and Land Rover always confused me… did Ford just want to keep them separate for clarity?
Thank you for the article! This is fascinating news for car history enthusiasts.
Did Tata get a good deal, or did they overpay for nostalgia? 🤑