India’s Tata Group has won the backing of Ford’s British union Unite as preferred bidder for the automaker’s Jaguar and Land Rover units.
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If Ford goes ahead with the sale of its U.K.-based units, it should be to a company “with an established presence and background in manufacturing,” and Tata best matches “these criteria,” the Unite union said in a statement cited by the Associated Press (AP).
However, the union prefers to have the brands remain part of Ford, the report added.
Unite’s general secretary Tony Woodley told AP the union made its decision based on presentations made to union representatives by all the short-listed bidders.
Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra, the latter in an alliance with a private-equity firm, are among the potential bidders for Jaguar and Land Rover which Ford may sell by early next year.
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By GlobalDataFord has said it will announce a decision around year’s end but confirmed recently it would retain Volvo for the moment.
AP noted that Tata [which had a deal with MG Rover to supply its Indica city cars badged as the CityRover until the British automaker went bust in 2005] currently concentrates on low-end vehicles, so the acquisition of either or both Ford brands would catapult it into higher-profile markets.
