JLR helps parent Tata nearly double Jan. sales

India's largest vehicles maker, said its global vehicle sales for January nearly doubled to 85,714 units from a year earlier.

The sales include UK-based luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, whose sales nearly tripled in the month to 16,269 units from a year ago, the company said in a statement on Monday. Part of the increase is due to a comparison with weak unit sales in January 2009 due to the worsening of the global economic downturn.

Tata had earlier said domestic sales, including trucks, buses and cars, jumped an annual 77 percent in January

Mid-engined Jaguar flagship on the way

Big Cat reveals shock plans for a stunning rival to Audi's R8 – and Auto Express has the low-down!

Auto Express has learnt that Jaguar is working on an all-new, mid-engined coupe which is set to make its public debut in just 12 months time.

Aimed at the likes of the Audi R8, the top-secret machine has apparently beaten the long awaited F-Type in the race to be the first new sportscar launched by the company since its acquisition by Indian conglomerate, Tata. It revives plans for a flagship sports car, which were first revealead way back in 2001 with the R-Coupe (pictured).

Based on the current XK, the newcomer will also be the first mid-engined model from the Coventry car builder since the XJ220…launched 18 years ago in 1991.

Tipped to be called the XE, it will first appear as a concept, possibly at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Set to combine a dramatic silouhette with an imposing nose, the model is expected to be the most forward looking model the firm has yet produced.

Under the bonnet, the car is likely to use a tuned version of the XF-R's 503bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine. Jaguar’s managing director Mike O’Driscoll said: “XK is the car that began a revolution for us, but it’s not the end of the story. I firmly believe the best car we could build to compliment this is a flagship coupé.”

For the full story, make sure you buy next week's issue of Auto Express, out January 21st.

Tata may need to invest $1B in Jaguar

 India's Tata group may have to spend at least $1 billion to revive premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover, which were bought by Tata Motors earlier this year, the Economic Timesreported on Tuesday.

Tata Sons, the holding company that holds large stakes in group firms, and unlisted financial services unit Tata Capital are among the options being considered to raise the cash, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed company sources.

"We will do everything in our ability to resource all our operations," the paper quoted a Tata Motors' spokesman as saying. Tata Motors paid $2.3 billion to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. earlier this year, just as global auto sales began collapsing. He declined comment on the size of funds required.

A spokesman for Tata Motors could not be immediately reached by Reuters for comment.

On Monday, UK's Financial Times had reported that Tata Motors had agreed to inject "tens of millions of pounds" into Jaguar and Land Rover to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis.

Tata Motors, which has a market value of about $1.5 billion, has dropped 74 percent so far this year while the main BSE index is down more than half.

Fiat hikes production of 500 minicar to 200,000 units

Fiat has boosted production of its popular 500 minicar to more than 200,000 units annually in response to increasing European demand for fuel-efficient compacts.

"Capacity for the 500 is now over 200,000 units a year," Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne said last week in a conference call with analysts.

Fiat now plans to sell 195,000 units of the popular 500 during 2008.

The Italian carmaker initially planned to sell 120,000 units this year. High demand for fuel-efficient small cars saw Fiat lift the target to 140,000 units earlier this year.

Fiat booked 230,000 dealer orders for the 500 between the car's July 2007 introduction and the end of its June 2008 reporting period, the company said.

The company said it sold 94,000 units in the first half of 2008.

Market researcher Jato Dynamics said the Fiat 500 was the Europe's second best-selling minicar over the January to May period, with 76,533 units sold.

The 500 was second to the Fiat Panda – the segment leader since 2004 – which sold 101,645 units in the first five months of the year, Jato said.

The Renault Twingo was the third best-selling minicar, with 59,855 sales over the January to May period.

Fiat launched the 500 in mid-July in India, where a 98 percent import duty has transformed the high-volume minicar into a premium model.

A 1.3-liter, 75hp diesel 500 in India costs the equivalent of 22,500 euros, compared to 14,750 euros in Italy.

Pricing is expected to limit demand and volume for the 500 in India. "This is a lifestyle product. We expect to sell a few hundred cars in the next 12 months," said Rajeev Kapoor, CEO of Fiat India Automobiles.

Fiat India Automobiles is a joint venture between the Italian automotive group and India's Tata Motors.

Tata open to Fiat selling Nano cars

Indian carmaker Tata Motors is open to Italy's Fiat helping to sell the ultra-cheap Nano model overseas, Chairman Ratan Tata said on Tuesday.

Tata, India's third-biggest carmaker, plans to launch the Nano later this year, priced at about $2,500.

"We have held talks about the Nano being marketed in markets where Fiat has already a strong presence. I am open to consider a partnership," he told a news conference at a forum promoting cooperation between Italian and Indian companies.

Fiat has a joint venture with Tata to manufacture and distribute cars, engines and commercial vehicles.

Tata also said the Tata group was in talks with Italian defense and aerospace company Finmeccanica about supplying helicopter parts.

Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said the company was in talks with Tata about making buses and trucks.

"We'll see if there are the conditions for us to go forward," he told reporters on the margins of the forum.

The head of Fiat's Iveco truck unit told an Italian newspaper in May he expected to resume talks with Tata on possible accords after the India partner completed its acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Cordero di Montezemolo also said he was "very optimistic" about second-quarter results due to be released on Wednesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters have forecast that Fiat would post an 11.4 percent rise in group trading profit, despite the worsening car market in Europe, thanks to strong sales in Brazil and support from its truck and tractor businesses.

Fiat shares closed down 0.92 percent at 10.432 euros as the DJ Stoxx auto index was flat.

Fiat, BMW plan small-car alliance

Fiat and BMW will cooperate to develop a new platform for small cars, supplier sources said.

The platform will underpin the next Fiat Grande Punto and BMW's third-generation Mini. Both cars are due early in the next decade.

The two companies are also considering developing a new family of gasoline and diesel engines, sources told Automotive News Europe.

Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said today that the carmaker will announce a cooperation agreement with another automaker tomorrow.

"Most likely it will be in the car business," Marchionne said on the sidelines of the press introduction of the 500 Abarth model here.

Marchionne did not give any more details on the cooperation.

But supplier sources familiar with the matter told ANE that Fiat and BMW will cooperate on a new small-car platform.

Fiat already has industrial alliances with other carmakers including PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, Suzuki and Tata.

BMW cooperates in Europe with PSA on engine production and the company has a joint venture in China with Brilliance.

Automakers increasingly are cooperating with competitors to reduce investments costs for new models.