About Land Rover
Land Rover is a British all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in Gaydon, England, UK. Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all four-wheel drive. Starting out as part of The Rover Car Company or Rover, Land Rovers were designed and manufactured as a range of four-wheel drive vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. Today, the marque is part of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company. Originally trademarked by Willys-Overland Corporation, Land Rover is one of the longest lived SUV brands (the only brand which is older is the U.S. Jeep).
Ford is currently considering divesting all three Premier units, with India's Tata Motors being the front-runner in the race to acquire one of the world's most prestigious automotive marques.
Manufacturing & Business
Land Rovers are manufactured primarily at the Solihull plant, near Birmingham, England. Production of the "Freelander 2" has moved recently to the Jaguar car factory at Halewood near Liverpool, a former Ford car plant. Defender models are assembled under license in several locations worldwide, including Brazil and Turkey. The former BL/Rover Group technical centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire is home to the Land Rover corporate and R&D headquarters.
Ongoing Sale
On 11 June 2007, Ford announced that it planned to sell Land Rover, along with Jaguar. Ford is retaining the services of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to advise it on the details of the deal. The buyer, possibly to a private equity group, was initially expected to be announced by September 2007, but the sale was delayed and an announcement shall not be made until the end of 2007. A UK based private equity firm, Alchemy Partners, besides Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra (both from India) have expressed interest in purchasing Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company. Ford has also announced that Volvo will be sold before the winter of 2007, finally dissolving the Ford PAG group.
