JLR may locally assemble Jaguar XF in India

Tata owned Jaguar Land Rover plans to assemble yet another model from the facility in Chikali, near Pune. The Land Rover Freelander 2 is been assembled from this plant for a year, and now the company plans to begin operations to assemble the Jaguar XF sedan. The company has received a positive response in India for the entry-level Jaguar and now looks to increase volumes and margins by locally assembling it here.

Globally, Jaguars directly compete with the German trio – Mercedes, BMW and Audi over prices; however, their prices are slightly higher in India due to CBU operations and also because JLR have maintained themselves as premium brand as compared to the others. At the current pricing, Jaguar XF is tad more expensive than the Audi A6 and BMW 5-Series, but may reduce them a little once the operations begin next year. There is a heavy customs duty of 110 per cent on CBU imports in India, while the CKD kits attract duty of just about 30 per cent. 

There is no confirmation on timelines from JLR as yet, but the company has earlier confirmed its intentions of locally assembling the sedan. Also, depending on the volume expansion, more Land Rover and Jaguar models may be assembled in India.