Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata, India

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Ford has signed the deal with Tata and will publicly announce the transaction in New York at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow according to reliable sources of The Associated Press.

Ford was contacted about this deal, they declined to comment but added "our first responsibility is to communicate with our employees."

Both Ford and Tata were in negotiations for some time now but finally they agreed to work together in regards to technology sharing and a commitment from Tata to buy Ford engines and body parts for the two brands.

All Jaguar and Land Rover's petrol engines are built in a Ford plant in South Wales, supporting hundreds of jobs there. Diesel engines come from Ford's factory in Dagenham, east London.

Tata earlier unveiled the cheapest car in the world for $2,500, but they are well established in trucks and passenger cars industries in India. This luxury car deal might look like a contradiction but Tata wants to establish a global brand and this deal will help them immensely.

Land Rover has generated record sales the last three years but Jaguar sales have been disappointing under Ford. Hopefully, Tata can do a credible job in boosting their sales and image worldwide including China and India, two rising nations in Asia.

Ford has lost $2.7 billion in 2007 and $12.6 billion in 2006, so it is a no brainer that it wants to sell off Jaguar and Land Rover. It can now refocus on its brand and try to become number 1 again in North America.

Ford will come out of this mess but I hope Tata retains the displaced workers in America.