Jaguar parent Tata Motors’ loss widens

Tata Motors, the Indian owner of British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, reported a wider loss on a weak demand as Asia’s third-largest economy remained shut for months following the coronavirus outbreak.

Tata Motors posted a loss of 3.14 billion rupees in the three months ended Sept. 30, widening from a 2.2 billion-rupee loss in the same period a year earlier. JLR posted a profit of 65 million pounds before tax during the quarter, Tata Motors said in a statement to stock exchanges Tuesday.

The Mumbai-based company is grappling with the worst slowdown in the history of Indian automobile industry with sales unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels for at least another four years.

Tata Motors plans to cut the company’s debt to “near zero” in the next three years.

Even before the covid-19 pandemic shuttered dealerships and factories around the world, JLR struggled with stricter emissions limits and Brexit uncertainty.

JLR sales in China gained 4.2% in May from a year earlier as all of its retailers there reopened for business.

Tata Motors may struggle to achieve an earnings turnaround in the coming quarters as persistent sales headwinds point to a long road to recovery for JLR, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence note.