Tata Motors has issued a short statement saying that it has had no discussions with Fiat on the deployment of technologies developed by Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR).
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The firm is currently engaged in detailed negotiations with Ford on acquiring its Jaguar and Land Rover operations and said that it ‘hopes that both the parties can reach an agreement in the forthcoming weeks.’
The Tata statement referring to Fiat follows press reports that Fiat – with whom Tata has an extensive commercial partnership – may be interested in elements of Jaguar and Land Rover technology.
In Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reportedly said that Fiat’s close association with Tata would make it possible to share Jaguar’s rear-wheel drive chassis platforms and Land Rover’s four-wheel drive systems.
The report said that the first application would be a ‘new flagship model for Alfa Romeo’.
In addition, Marchionne reportedly told the newspaper that Fiat was open to expanding its relationship with Tata into Europe and that it would ‘look at the possibilities’ for European distribution of Tata’s Nano.
