JLR gets £340m EIB loan
February 25th, 2010 by Richard Aucock
JAGUAR Land Rover has today secured a big £340m loan to develop green hybrid cars and lightweight bodies.
The loan has been granted by the European Investment Bank under its Clean Transport Facility
It is a big boost for JLR, which now has official EU recognition for the worth of its CO2-reducing plans. The funds will also aid the short-term financial health of the business, admitted Tata Motors vice chairman Ravi Kant.
‘This will support the progress of turnaround in Jaguar Land Rover’s business in challenging market conditions, alongside cost cutting measures, increase of volumes and the improved margins strategy currently being implemented by Jaguar Land Rover.’
It completes the funding requirements of JLR, said Kant. It had already secured an additional £500m of funding last year – and also fully repaid the $3.0bn bridge finance loan it had used to secure the firm.
‘We view Jaguar Land Rover as a key part of Tata Motors and we feel confident about its outlook for the future.’
The firm’s chief financial officer added ‘we have taken significant steps to meet our financing requirements and strengthen our balance sheet over a short timeframe in challenging and adverse market conditions.
‘The business performance of our Indian and international operations have improved significantly and we feel comfortably positioned for the future.’
Tags: eib, jaguar, JLR, land rover, tata