Tata may revive Daimler, develop it into a super-luxury marque for the super-rich

Tata could develop Daimler into a super-luxury car marque for the super-rich

Tata Motors, which now owns Jaguar and Land Rover, also owns the historic British car marque, Daimler, which was taken over by Jaguar back in 1960. The Daimler name (not to be confused with the erstwhile DaimlerChrysler or Daimler AG of Germany…) is almost defunct these days, with only one model – the Daimler Super Eight – being on sale in the UK today.

In the UK, the Daimler Super Eight sells for the equivalent of about Rs 65 lakh. If Ratan Tata decides to revive Daimler, he will develop it as a super-luxury marque, with Daimler cars positioned in a price bracket that’s clearly above Jaguar.

Tata sees Daimler as a marque that could possibly compete with other super-luxury brands like Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Maybach. According to Tata, there would be demand for ultra-luxurious Daimler cars in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and perhaps also Europe.

Jaguar shares the rights to the ‘Daimler’ name with Daimler AG, the German company that produces Mercedes-Benz cars. For those who remember the erstwhile DaimlerChrysler, the company was split up last year, and its American operations were bought by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm.