Jaguar and Land Rover report losses in excess of $1 billion for 2008

While fears of plummeting sales have long been out in the open, both Jaguar and Land Rover couldn’t have possibly braced themselves from the reality that they lost this much in a year.

It hasn’t been an easy year for Jaguar and Land Rover, to say the least. Both companies were eventually sold to Indian carmaker, Tata as a result of their spiral from respectability. In the meantime, Tata has now applied for a loan from the UK government to offset the money Jaguar and Land Rover has lost in 2008.

The latest news regarding the potential loan has Tata receiving well over $288 million from the UK government, although a number of kinks are still yet to be ironed out between the government and Tata Motors. For one, Tata is requesting a 12-month loan, which is six months more than the UK government is prepared to give.

It remains to be seen how Jaguar and Land Rover can escape this puddle mess, but it’s given itself a fighter’s chance thanks to the strong sales of the Range Rover, as well as the positive feedback the new XJ and XF models have gotten from global consumers.

Hopefully, this piece of good news would spark a turnaround in the fortunes of both brands and from the early returns, it just might be the break both Jaguar and Land Rover have been looking for.