Unite trade union ends DHL-Jaguar Land Rover dispute

wsws.org, September 7, 2013

An extract from the article:

JLR is in a joint venture with Chinese car manufacturer Chery in building a new £1.1 billion car manufacturing plant near Shanghai that will be in operation in 2015. China is rapidly becoming the main market for JLR’s top-selling Range Rover Evoque, which is currently produced at Halewood. Bill Russo, the president of the Chinese-based management consulting firm Synergistic Ltd, warned JLR last year it needed to be “localised, as quite frankly, their competition is localising.” Russo was referring to Volkswagen, Daimler, Audi, Mercedes Benz and BMW, which have located production to China under joint venture operations. By joining up with Chery, JLR will avoid the 25 percent import duty levied against foreign automotive imports.

Read the full article at wsws.org

Bill Russo Interview on JLR-Chery Joint Venture on China Radio International

CRIEnglish.com, November 23, 2012

UK luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, or JLR, has received approval from the Chinese government to develop a joint venture with Chinese automaker Chery Automobile.

The one point six billion US dollar joint venture will be Jaguar Land Rover's first attempt at making vehicles in China.
The approval comes as results show JLR sales in China have increased by 80% this year. 

To learn more about the joint venture, Brandon Blackburn-Dwyer is speaking with Yale Zhang, Managing Director of the Shanghai-based Auto Foresight Co. Ltd and Bill Russo, President and founder of Synergistics Ltd and Senior Advisor with Booz & Company.

Click here to hear the full broadcast at China Radio International

The interview begins 14:37 minutes into the broadcast.

QUESTIONS:

OVERVIEW
1 )Do you support the Joint venture between Chery and JLR? Who is the bigger winner here?

CHERY
2) What is Chery looking for from the partnership? What benefits does the JV bring to Chery?
3) Chery is very much established as a mid-range car brand while JLR is more at the high-end/luxury end. Does this create problems with strategic fit or does it ensure there is no competition between the two parent companies of the JV? Can JLR avoid being tagged with Cherry's reputation?
4) Research by the state-owned China Lianhe Credit Rating Co. shows Chery would have lost money every year for the past three years were it not for government subsidies. If that's the case, will the JV help Chery and how?

JLR
5) JLR's sales are rapidly expanding in China, why are they looking to form a JV if they are already doing so well as an import brand?
6) JLR combines high end passenger vehicles in the Jaguar brand and large scale jeeps in the land rover brand, which is more popular? Can JLR really push its large SUVs into the Asian and particularly Chinese Market?
7) Overall is Chery the right on the ground partner for JLR? What benefits does it bring to JLR over other possible partners?

WIDER MARKET
8) Does this JV tell us anything about the wider car market in China?
9) Are JVs the best strategy for local Chinese brand auto makers like Chery? Are JVs a good strategy for foreign brands entering the Chinese auto market? Or is it part of the regulation they ask required to follow? 

ADVICE
10) What advice would you give to Chery and JLR moving forward?
11) What can others learn from this partnership?

BACK ANCHOR: That was Brandon Blackburn-Dwyer speaking with Yale Zhang, Managing Director of the Shanghai-based Auto Foresight Co. Ltd and Bill Russo, President and founder of Synergistics Ltd and Senior Advisor with Booz & Company.