Jaguar and Land Rover sale imminent
£1 billion deal confirmation Wednesday
Luxury brands to join budget manufacturer
Company boss has pledged brands will stay in UK
Ford is expected confirm the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors tomorrow.
Tata, India's leading car maker, has been in talks with Ford since the end of last year, and is reported to have spent close to £1 billion buying the luxury brands.
The sale is expected to include a pledge by Ford to contribute to the pension fund for workers at Jaguar and Land Rover and a commitment by Tata to continue buying engines from Ford.
Tata is best known for launching the Nano earlier this year, which costs less than £1300 in India, as well as for selling trucks and functional passenger cars.
This has raised questions about how the company will integrate luxury brands into its line-up, but company boss Ratan Tata has already pledged that he will not devalue the brands, or move them away from their traditional base in Britain.
'There is no need to tinker with the brands. Our challenge is to make them thrive and grow,' said Tata.
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