Tata Motors accelerates on strong JLR sales expectations

Moneycontrol Bureau

Tata Motors shares surged 4 percent on Tuesday as strong Jaguar Land Rover sales in the US got the street excited and there are expectations the company will report good global JLR sales for February. The British luxury car and SUV company sold 5,053 units in the US market last month, up 18 percent year-on-year. Tata Motors had also seen some correction post its disappointing earnings announcement last month. The stock is down 5 percent since Feb 14. The stock is up on the back of the JLR US numbers, says one analyst. There is an expectation that global sales numbers for JLR will be strong this month, says another analyst. Tata Motors' domestic sales remained sluggish, passenger vehicle sales slumped. But its the global sales, including JLR, that the street will keenly look forward to, since JLR now accounts for the bulk of its earnings. Meanwhile, JLR is increasing its investment in its new engines manufacturing facility in the UK to more than GBP 500 million. In addition, JLR will invest GBP 2.75 billion in product creation during the year, it announced at the Geneva Motor Show. At 12:50 hrs, Tata Motors shares were up 3.5 percent at Rs 299.90 on NSE.