Bmw To Sell Land Rover Line To Ford

FORD MOTOR Comp any has agreed to buy British truck maker Land Rover as part of the BMW group's exit from its six-year struggle to turn around the ailing Rover car group.

BMW and Ford were expected to announce details of the Dearborn-based auto giant's acquisition of the luxury sport utility unit soon, according to a source close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The deal comes a day after BMW announced plans to sell the Rover passenger car division to Alchemy Partners Limited, a British investment group.

The group is set to take on Rover and MG brand cars, including their plant in Longbridge, England, and recast it by the name MG Car Company.

 

Over the past five years, those operations have burdened BMW with $1.25 billion in red ink and dragged down profit an estimated 28 per cent last year alone.

Land Rover, however, is considered the crown jewel of the rover lineup.

The company sells four models of SUVs, two of which - the Range Rover and the Discovery - have been imported to the United States.

The company built about 160,000 vehicles last year.

Ford's deal with BMW for Land Rover is the latest step in a trend of global consolidation among automakers.

Earlier this week, General Motors Corporation took 20 per cent of the Fiat auto company from its Italian parent, a few months after taking a similar stake in the Japanese parent of Subaru.