Nothing could be more British than Tata's Jaguar: Theresa May

UK is a hub of investment, says May

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Indian industrial behemoth Tata is Britain's biggest manufacturer, but there cannot be anything more British than its products like the Jaguar and Land Rover luxury cars, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday here.

May also said the UK, which voted to exit the European Union last year, was "a hub of investment".

"A Global Britain is no less British because we are a hub for foreign investment. Indeed, our biggest manufacturer, Tata, is Indian - and you still can't get more British than a Jaguar or a Land Rover," May said.

Britain's biggest automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sold a record 583,312 cars last year, as a sharp drop in the value of the pound after Brexit continued the Indian-owned firm's rapid expansion, reported fortune.com.

Sales of luxury Jaguar models rose 77 per cent to 148,730 units in 2016 due to strong demand for a range of new high-end products including the F-PACE, the brand's first SUV which was launched last year. Europe accounted for almost a quarter of total demand, making it Jaguar's biggest market.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum here, May said Britain was open for business even after it leaves the EU.

"For a little over six months ago, millions of my fellow citizens upset the odds by voting - with determination and quiet resolve - to leave the European Union and embrace the world," she was quoted as saying by Independent.

May told the World Economic Forum in Davos she would "make the case for free markets, free trade and globalisation", while responding to people's concerns about the impact.

And she said: "We are by instinct a great, global, trading nation that seeks to trade with countries not just in Europe but beyond Europe too."

She acknowledged the road ahead "will be uncertain at times", but said it promised "a brighter future for our country's children, and grandchildren too".

May also made the contentious claim that the Brexit vote was not a decision to become "more distant" from the EU.

"Our decision to leave the EU was no rejection of our friends in Europe? it was no attempt to become more distant from them," she stated.