Automotive conglomerate Tata Motors is planning to jointly develop a SUV with their subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover. Sources say that Tata Motors is close to finalize a joint project with its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover to develop a premium SUV aimed to pit against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Hyundai Santa Fe for the local consumer.
A team of 45 engineers headed by Karl Heinz Servos is working on the project, codenamed Q5, which could lead to rolling out of this SUV somewhere between 2016-17. The development comes six years after Tata Motors acquired the marquee British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover. If the project passes the company’s feasibility phase stage, the SUV will be built on the platform of Land Rover’s current generation Freelander 2 and based on JLR’s premium development processes even as it will be substantially modified to adapt to Indian market conditions.
