After Pouting, Jaguar Land Rover Resumes US Imports

Jaguar Land Rover was one of a few smaller automakers which pouted, took their ball, and went home after President Trump put a 25 percent tariff on imported new cars. However, it seems the British automaker, which is owned by Tata out of India, has decided it can’t get by without this market, regardless of tariffs.

McLaren has a new CEO.

That’s right, Jaguar Land Rover has started importing new vehicles to the United States once more and we bet it hasn’t affected your life in the slightest. But for the few who dare to buy something like a Range Rover, the downside is it’ll cost even more to drive something horrendously unreliable.

Exactly how Jaguar Land Rover will handle the move isn’t clear, but a Daily Mail report speculates the cost of tariffs will be passed to consumers in full. That could be true and it would be a wise move since nobody buying a Jaguar or Land Rover is trying to save a buck.

The only thing a JLR representative would say on the matter is that the automaker has a short term and a long term plan for managing the situation. We don’t know what those might be, only that when the company’s fiscal year results come out later this month more details will be revealed.

That makes us wonder if part of the plan is to shift some manufacturing to the US. That’s been the route certain other automakers have chosen, although executing on that move takes time and resources.

In the meantime, if you want to look good in the Starbucks line, you’ll have to overpay even more for your Range Rover Evoque to the tune of about $12,500. At a time when even the wealthy are feeling the pinch of inflation, that’s not going to be great for sales.

As pointed out in the Daily Mail report, the US buys more in cars than any other good from the UK. That alone has the UK government on edge along with British automakers, and understandably so. After all, it’s become apparent the largest vehicle market in the world, China, is becoming increasingly hostile towards foreign brands, no matter where they’re manufactured.

Image via Jaguar Land Rover