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Jaguar Land Rover CEO Wants Credit Fast

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) CEO Davis Smith urges UK Government to aid the domestic industry as other countries have done, in order to avoid further downfall. He said his company needs access to credit to help offset losses caused by the global decrease in new car sales.

"It would now be a tragedy were the aid package not to be delivered in time to avert the industrial consequences of another quarter like this one," Smith was quoted as saying by Autonews. He makes reference to the 2.3 billion pounds in loan guarantees promised by the Government to support the industry, an incentive stuck somewhere between here and nowhere as the Government still works out the details with the European Union.

Jaguar Land Rover worldwide sales dropped by 35 percent in the last quarter of 2008, and is expecting a further 30 percent plunge this year. Company's official stated that JLR is not a “basket case' in need of handouts, in response to reports that said JLR makes "outdated and unwanted vehicles, desperate for a state handout to delay the inevitable."

Smith places the current crisis on the financial system's shoulders, and keeps banks responsible for the current crisis. He wants the Government aid not to come in the form of cash, but by backing up credit access for the automotive industry companies. "Short-term loans or loan guarantees are necessary to keep the wheels turning during what is a once-in-a-century economic recession fixing problems of credit insurance and stimulating consumer demand," said Smith. "Somebody needs to put oil back into the engine."

Oil, cash, guarantees, whatever they want to call it, the talk of the day is aid. In whatever form it may come, the  UK auto industry needs it bad, as it is so far one of the few that didn't get aid, falling behind Germany, France, Sweden and the US, countries whose Governments already approved plans to help their local industries.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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