It’s time for Tata to step aside and let the Chinese take over at Jaguar Land Rover

They’ve been dating for a good few years, have JLR of Coventry and Chery, from Wuhu, China. Fourteen years ago, the courting couple in effect got engaged by announcing what was described as a 50:50 Sino-British joint venture called Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Co Ltd.

Their first starter home/factory was at 1 Land Rover Road, Changshu. And although things didn’t pan out quite as planned, because the British firm stopped building its own-branded vehicles at the plant, versions of Chery Freelanders engineered, built, exported and sold by the Chinese company are now rolling off that production line. And at least one, the Freelander 8, will soon be on sale in Britain – without Land Rover nameplates, badging or dealers.

Significantly, Chery has stated in recent days that it’s still keen to pursue a closer relationship with JLR.

Enough is enough. The frustratingly long ‘engagement’ has to end and the pair need to set a wedding date. Yup, you read that right: I reckon it’ll be very positive and productive for the short to long-term futures of comparatively tiny JLR and the much bigger Chery if they tie the knot, staging one of the most momentous motor industry marriages.

Sure, prenuptial agreements and other legal papers need to be drawn up and signed. But JLR’s owner, Tata of India, can deal with all that, while at the same time deciding whether it wishes to sell part, all or none of its stake in JLR to Chery. Maybe it’s time for the Indians to do what the Americans (Ford) and Germans (BMW Group) did with the Jag and Land Rover marques – step aside and let others (in this case, the Chinese) take the reins.

If that’s the case, no outfit on earth is better placed than Chery Group, which is expanding at an epic pace as its Jaecoo, Omoda, Chery and Lepas brands take off, with at least two more marques – Freelander and iCaur – also poised to be unleashed here. Not that Chery Group’s new marques and sub-brands, with or without JLR connotations, will end there. For example, the ‘baby Landy’ that’s been talked about and sketched for decades could be built highly cost-effectively by exploiting Chery’s astonishing economies of scale, never mind its impressive but comparatively inexpensive CSH (Chery Super Hybrid) engine. Give the entry-level Land Rover a premium feel inside, plonk a little ‘Land Raver’ badge on the outside, price it at £30k-£40k… Job done!   

As for the best man/men at a Chery-JLR wedding? Who better than Ian Callum, Gerry McGovern or both? While we’re at it, how about a return – on a part-time consultancy basis – for these two recently departed, still deeply needed design gods to assist in a new Chery-JLR era? They have Jag and Land Rover blood running through their veins and still have much to offer the Midlands motor industry they helped shape.

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