Volvo excels in China while Jaguar lags in India

Mumbai

TATA Motors Ltd and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co both bought iconic luxury brands from a struggling Ford Motor Co in the wake of the global recession. Both acquisitions were met with scepticism from investors, who now view the two companies very differently.

Since Geely's US$1.5 billion purchase of Sweden's Volvo Cars in 2010, the Chinese automaker has seen the share price of its listed unit increase sixfold in Hong Kong trading. India's Tata Motors, which bought Britain's Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) two years earlier for US$2.5 billion, has merely doubled in the same period. The contrast is even starker if one shortens the time frame: Tata is down about 21 per cent this year, while Geely is up 155 per cent.