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Car giant wants to sell to ‘millionaires and billionaires’ in America

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced plans to focus on wealthy North American buyers as it bids for ‘double digit’ revenue growth and tweaks its electric vehicle plans.

JLR this morning issued an update on its Reimagine strategy to transform the business amid the global shift to electric vehicles.

The West Midlands based group, which also has a large factory at Halewood in Merseyside, said today that it was targeting “medium-term double‑digit revenue growth by leveraging its House of Brands strategy to cater to different customer segments and diversify its sources of growth”.

JLR has accelerated its push into the electric vehicle market, but this morning its CEO PB Balaji said there was “no way” it would phase out petrol vehicles entirely as they were still in demand particularly in the US and the Middle East.

The company announced changes to its upcoming Range Rover, Defender and Discovery vehicle launches, with more hybrid options available alongside fully electric ones.

It said there would be more “flexibility” added to its electric vehicles built at Halewood, with more hybrid engine options, and more details on the latest Halewood-built Range Rover will be revealed later this year. Solihull-built Range Rover Electric and Range Rover Sport Electric models will be launched later this year and will include hybrid and full electric options.

JLR recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with fellow carmaker Stellantis to explore product and technology development opportunities in the US. The company today confirmed that it would be focusing on the Defender brand in the US as part of that collaboration.

The group, which last year suffered a massive cyber attack that shut down production, added that it planned to drive cost reductions of £1.7bn over the next two years.

The company says that as well as its key markets in the UK, Europe and China, JLR will focus on the US. JLR said it planned to design exclusive vehicles for the US market to cater for the “extensive and increasing luxury opportunity there”.

PB Balaji, JLR CEO, said: “As we enter a critical business delivery phase of our Reimagine strategy, launching five new products over the next two years across our incredible House of Brands, now is also the time to evolve our plan to offer global markets greater propulsion choice to unlock growth and build resilience.

“To truly manifest the power of our brands, we will increase our focus on North America, our biggest market. The rising demand for luxury products coupled with the strong preference we see for our brands signals significant growth potential.

“Apart from accelerating our existing offerings, we are also exploring new high potential segments for our Defender brand, which will allow us to offer tailored luxury products and experiences for even more of our US clients. Our aspiration, in the coming years, is to grow our US business to the size of the entire JLR business as it exists today.”

The Financial Times also quoted Mr Balaji this morning as saying JLR would “give everything” to boost its sales to “millionaires and billionaires” in America.

The M49 junction was built in 2019 and not one single vehicle has used it

The opening of a £50m ‘dead-end’ motorway junction near Bristol that was built seven years ago and has never been used could face further delays, it has been announced.

National Highways completed the bulk of the work on the two-bridge junction off the M49 – a stretch of road between Avonmouth and Severnside – in 2019. But plans to link the junction with a nearby industrial estate used by companies such as Tesco and Amazon stalled after a dispute arose over who was responsible for building the connecting road.

Now “defects” have been identified at the junction, National Highways has revealed. The body responsible for England’s roads said it was looking at options for remedial work following an engineering survey carried out by independent specialists.

“Discussions with our contractor are ongoing,” National Highways said in a statement. “We expect this will impact the opening of the South Gloucestershire Council link road, which is in construction.

“We remain committed to opening the junction as this will benefit the regional economy and communities. For safety reasons these defects must be addressed before we can connect it to local authority roads.

“We realise how frustrating this news will be to communities and businesses and we are working with the council and other partners on next steps.”

A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said the news was “incredibly frustrating”.

“We share the anger and disbelief felt by local residents and businesses,” they said. “The council has committed to deliver the link road to connect to the M49 junction, and we remain on track to do so by the end of 2026.

“However, the opening of the junction once the link road is complete is solely a matter for National Highways.”

Under plans by the local authority, work on the link road was expected to finish this year and open to traffic in early 2027 – eight years after the junction was originally built.

But, according to South Gloucestershire Council, National Highways has not confirmed a programme or timeline for resolving issues affecting the junction and does not expect to provide an update until the autumn of this year.

“This uncertainty is deeply concerning for residents in nearby communities, who are affected by significant numbers of large vehicles using local roads,” the council spokesperson said.

“The delay is also a problem for businesses in Severnside, an area we all want to see grow and which needs to be properly connected to the strategic road network as soon as possible, in order to attract the investment to create jobs.

“We are pressing National Highways to provide as much information as possible, as soon as possible, about how and when they will make the junction ready for traffic and when we can expect the link road to be connected to the motorway in the way we have long planned. We will continue to press for answers and share updates as soon as further information becomes available.”

When the M49 junction was first proposed, it was hoped it would create an economic boost for the region and ease congestion on local roads by connecting the Port of Avonmouth and the Avonmouth and Severnside Enterprise Area.

But the project, which secured another £7m from the Department for Transport last year, has been hampered by delays, much to the chagrin of local residents and businesses.

Landownership issues, disagreements over responsibilities and navigating ecological challenges have all contributed to slowing up the opening of the so-called “ghost junction”.

Peter Tyzack, local councillor at Pilning and Severn Beach parish council, and former chair of planning on South Gloucestershire Council, previously told Business Live the delays were “very frustrating”.

“I raised the issue in council meetings and other local meetings on numerous occasions and got no straight answers,” he said.

“I would ask about the approach road to the M49 junction and get told it was someone else’s responsibility. Local people are amazed it has taken so long.”

The land owner of the distribution park, Delta, has been contacted for comment.

FIRST ON FOX — Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling is sending letters to the governors of 53 U.S. states and territories demanding “immediate action” to combat fraud, waste and abuse within the unemployment insurance program.

“In the letters, the department announced its intent to crack down on rampant fraud and end mismanagement, improper payments, and corruption within the UI program. Acting Secretary Sonderling notified states that, in partnership with the Office of the Inspector General, the department will use every available enforcement tool — including withholding administrative funds from states for the first time in history — to ensure compliance in protecting UI system integrity and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,” a statement obtained by FOX Business reads.

“We are officially putting governors on notice,” Sonderling said in a statement. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars — no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.” 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Shares of Vedanta Iron and Steel jumped 5% to hit the upper circuit for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, extending gains to over 16% since Azim Premji-backed Premji Invest’s PI Opportunities AIF V LLP bought shares worth Rs 102 crore after the stock’s market debut on Monday.

PI Opportunities AIF V LLP, an investment arm of Premji Invest, which is owned by Indian billionaire businessman and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, bought nearly 4.84 crore shares worth Rs 101.68 crore at Rs 21.02 apiece through a bulk deal on Monday.

Among the four Vedanta Group companies listed on Monday, Vedanta Iron and Steel has emerged as the top performer so far, adding more than Rs 1,255 crore to its market capitalisation in just three trading sessions.

The stock debuted at Rs 20 apiece on the NSE, valuing the company at around Rs 7,821 crore at listing. Following the recent rally, its market capitalisation has risen to Rs 9,076 crore as of Wednesday.

Also read: Vedanta Iron & Steel shares list at Rs 22 on BSE as mega demerger concludes

Vedanta Aluminium, the only large-cap stock among the four companies that listed on Monday, hit the 5% lower circuit for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, taking its losses to more than 14% since its market debut. Vedanta Power shares have declined around 2% from their listing price, while Vedanta Oil & Gas also hit the 5% lower circuit for the third straight session, falling over 14% since debut.
Vedanta Iron & Steel has operations across India and Africa and focuses on iron ore exploration, mining and processing. The company also produces high-quality steel, wire rods, TMT bars, pig iron, ductile iron (DI) pipes, ferro-silicon, cement and metallurgical coke.

Also read: 4 new Vedanta Group stocks debut on Dalal Street. What’s ahead?

About Vedanta demerger

In April, Vedanta had announced that each eligible shareholder would receive one share in each of the four demerged entities — Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Oil & Gas and Vedanta Iron & Steel — for every Vedanta share held as of the record date, May 1.
While Vedanta’s share price had already adjusted to reflect the restructuring, investors were eagerly awaiting the listing of the four spun-off companies. The stocks have initially been placed in the Trade-to-Trade (T2T) segment, where every transaction results in compulsory delivery.

Also read: Vedanta to be removed from MSCI Global Standard Indexes from June 22

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)