Jaguar Land Rover, Chery seek approval for China JV

Jaguar Land Rover and China’s Chery Automobile are seeking regulatory approval for a US$2.78 billion car venture in eastern China, Reuters reported, quoting two unnamed sources. The source said the JLR-Chery venture will be located in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, and initially produce Land Rover SUVs followed by Jaguars in the second phase. “The plan is still subject to the approval of the National Development and Reform Commission at this stage. The size of the investment could be adjusted accordingly,” another source said. The deal marks the latest efforts of Jaguar Land Rover, which is majority owned by India’s Tata Motors, to increase its market share in China. China remains the world’s largest auto market, though deliveries of passenger cars in the first two months of 2012 fell 3% year-on-year, the biggest drop since 2005, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.