Jaguar and Land Rover won’t sell this year

The companies, that is. (And, I guess, the cars, too – that’s why Ford’s selling them.)

Squelching rampant rumors that a deal to sell the Jaguar and Land Rover brands would be struck by the end of September or October, Lewis Booth, Ford of Europe’s executive vice-president, told reporters two days ago that no deal for the brands would be announced until late this year or early next year.

Yesterday, Ford’s president, Alan Mulally, chimed in by saying that the current volatility in world credit markets “absolutely is an issue” in the contemplated sale. Mulally said that these concerns would not slow down the sale. 

If the credit “issue” is not timing, then it must be price. Only by lowering the price for the units can Ford diminish the investor risk, thereby making the deal more attractive to investors. 

This also, perhaps, increases the possibility that the brands could be sold to a company from a country such as China or Russia, where investors have access to capital without the need to resort to the world’s credit markets.