Engine of growth: How its British subsidiary is keeping Tata Motors going

Quarter after quarter, it’s the same story for Tata Motors: Jaguar and Land Rover, or JLR, to the rescue.

On November 9, Tata Motors announced that the company’s profit for the July-September quarter grew nearly three fold on the back of higher sales at JLR. During the quarter, JLR’s revenue grew by over 11% to Rs 53,862 crore, helped mostly by growing retail sales. Once again, the British carmaker had come to the rescue of its Indian mothership.

Tata Motors acquired JLR for over $2.4 billion in 2008, in what was then seen as an audacious attempt by an Indian automaker to make its mark in the global automotive arena. Since then, the marquee British brand has gone on to become the main cash cow for Tata Motors’ floundering fortunes, contributing over 75% of the company’s turnover in recent quarters.

“JLR is essentially Tata Motors now,” said Deepesh Rathore, co-founder of the automotive consultancy Emerging Markets Automotive Advisors. “Analysts don’t look beyond JLR’s performance now. The reason is that JLR also has the best margins amongst Tata Motors’ businesses. The other businesses, like domestic passenger cars, are too small or cyclic (like commercial vehicles).”

Tata Motors has been facing a prolonged crisis, with the automaker struggling to sell its passenger cars in the subcontinent. The company’s market share, too, has seen a decline. It currently accounts for about 5.2% of the Indian passenger car market, making it the sixth-largest car maker in the country.

Since last year, however, Tata Motors has been in the midst of a turnaround plan that includes new and more reliable products, and a focus on better customer experience. This year, the company also won a contract from the Indian government to supply electric cars.

“With our turnaround plan in full action, we are seeing encouraging results and we will continue to drive sustainable profitable growth to meet our future aspirations,” Guenter Butschek, CEO of Tata Motors, said. But all that will be nothing without JLR.

This article first appeared on Quartz.