[nadepalma]

This is related to an earlier story on the subject - Tata gets rights to "classic" British names in Land Rover/Jag Deal.

SOURCE: Detroit News

Monday, March 31, 2008
Tata gains marque coveted by China
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

Tata Motors Ltd. comes away from its $2.3 billion deal with Ford Motor Co. with an array of European nameplates. In addition to Jaguar and Land Rover, the Indian automaker has acquired the rights to the Rover name coveted by Chinese manufacturers, the old Lanchester brand, and it shares the name Daimler with German automaker Daimler AG.

Tata executives have not disclosed plans for all the brands.

So far, they have stressed that they will respect the identities of Jaguar and Land Rover, two of Britain's stateliest marques, and keep the carmakers separate from Tata's more down-market vehicle operations.

Auto experts say Tata is likely to explore uses for the other brands. Jaguar has considered setting up a separate Daimler line of cars above the Jaguar range, and that idea still has merit, said Wesley Brown, a partner at Iceology, a Los Angeles-based marketing consultancy.

Luxury car sales are expected to outpace the overall market because the number of affluent people is growing, he said. "A Daimler brand above Jaguar would have tremendous potential."

Ford acquired the Daimler name when it bought Jaguar in 1989 but sold Daimler AG rights to the name last year after the German automaker split from Chrysler. Both the brand, pronounced DAME-ler in Britain, and the German company trace their origins to motor car inventor Gottlieb Daimler. In 1893, a British businessman bought the British rights to Daimler's engine -- and Jaguar acquired the marque in 1960.

Because of longstanding ties between India and Britain, Tata probably has a good grasp of the brands' identities and potential, Brown said. "As an Indian company, they've probably got the second-best knowledge of Britain and its people after the British."

As Tata seeks to grow beyond its home market, it may seek to market cars under a Rover badge.

MORE HERE

 

[nadepalma]

This gets more and more interesting to me. I know Daimler is very limited as a brand - that is, its essentially a trimlevel on the XJ in the UK right now. But seeing a truly different Daimler make a return would be interesting.

However, I wonder what the agreement between the old DCX and FoMoCo called for with regards to the name. Daimler AG is allowed to use the name, but was there anything in the agreement about allowing the name to be used internationally as a Maybach competitor?

I wonder...

 

[SUPERBADD75]

who really cares about the nameplates they hold the rights to, unless they actually plan to do something with them. Daimler-Benz (or Chrysler) has never put the name on a car, and as a trim level, it doesn't really amount to much for Ford either. lots of car makers hold the rights to old car names, so what?

 

[nadepalma]

who really cares about the nameplates they hold the rights to, unless they actually plan to do something with them. Daimler-Benz (or Chrysler) has never put the name on a car, and as a trim level, it doesn't really amount to much for Ford either. lots of car makers hold the rights to old car names, so what?

The angle on it was that it would give a non-western car company access and rights to a western brand that could be built in a low-wage country like India or China and sold in all markets. That could be somewhat disasterous for some western players - not just because of labor costs and the fact that they are recognizable nameplates, but because they dont have to honor any labor agreements or previously held arrangments to do so.

So if a UK labor union always built Rovers and MGs at Longbridge, and now Tata and SAIC owns the rights to both names respectively, they dont have to honor any kind of agreements, etc. You are already seeing it on the MG side -- they ARE going to retart production of the MG TF in the UK -- but basically they are going to be built from knock-down-kits. That cuts a HUGE percentage of the costs out of the assembly and they can undercut their competitors in the UK market.

If Tata starts to build Rovers in India - or just huge amounts of components - they are going to undercut UK established production of Fords, Vauxhalls, etc in that market.

And all while using an established and recognized nameplate that many western carbuyers wouldn't know was built overseas or is owned by a foreign concern.

That was essentially my point on it -- its' not really that they have rights to un-used names, but that there is a real possibility that they will get used.

And if a company like Tata has access and cooperations with an already established player like Fiat in Europe - then the certainty of Rover or Daimler making a larger comeback has even more possibility. There could easily be a revived Rover being sold in Europe and elsewhere on Fiat mechanicals or Daimler super-sedans being based on a Jag/Maserati platform, etc.

 

[Rocket 88]

Just my opinion, but its been very difficult to get Jaguar anywhere near profitable, and its generally agreed that Land Rover will require continued large investments to remain profitable. How realistic is it for Tata to be sucessful with this project and then some how start selling even further upmarket cars with a name as confusing as Daimler? Seems like a longshot. The real Diamler isn't even moving as many Maybachs as they had hoped. Plus, I think a lot of folks are unsure how well received Jag and Land Rover will be under Indian ownership.

 

[vxl]

The angle on it was that it would give a non-western car company access and rights to a western brand that could be built in a low-wage country like India or China and sold in all markets.

TATA had already built the "Rover City" a few years back and it was a disaster.

 

[mgescuro]

I'm glad to see the idea of a car above the XJ is still floating around a viable.
But it looks like the Daimler name will be split off from the XJ. That's fine too!!!

Daimler was only used in Europe. In the US, it was merely the Super 8. THey start at $115,000. So a fully separate name would adequately challenge Bentley -- at least on the "low end."

I'm happy to see potential opportunities opening up for Jaguar.