The boss of French car maker Citroen has said a tie-up with Jaguar Land Rover – or a takeover of the Coventry car maker – could still be on the cards.
Linda Jackson, who is originally from Coventry, said such a deal involving Citroen’s parent company PSA – which has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks – could still take place.
Ms Jackson, Citroen’s CEO, was speaking at its centenary celebrations in Paris, an event which saw the car maker take 100 cars from its 100 year history to the French capital.
Citroen recently held the UK part of its centenary celebrations in Coventry, when a cavalcade of more than 1,000 Citroen cars travelled from Coombe Abbey to the city centre as part of this year’s MotoFest.
Ms Jackson mentioned Jaguar Land Rover during an interview with Daily Mail motoring editor Ray Massey, Mail Online reports.
The interview said some sort of Jaguar Land Rover deal – a partnership or a takeover – had not been ruled out.
Asked about the possibility of it happening she said: “We are always looking for opportunities.”
In the interview, PSA Group’s fortunes were contrasted with those of Jaguar Land Rover.
The French firm is in rude financial health, having come back from near bankruptcy, while Jaguar Land Rover recently posted a multi-million pound annual loss and is in the midst of a £2.5 billion cost-saving programme.
PSA has also turned around the fortunes of Vauxhall and Opel since it bought the brands from General Motors.
Ms Jackson added: “We are financially very stable now, having gone from virtual bankruptcy. We’re looking for opportunities.
“If we see a good opportunity or idea, why not? We’re not in a hurry. We can wait.”
Her words echo the sentiments of PSA Group boss Carlo Tavares, who has made no secret of his interest in Jaguar Land Rover.
Some analysts have suggested a merger or takeover is inevitable for Jaguar Land Rover as the Coventry car maker continues its journey towards electrification, which will require huge investment.
Jaguar Land Rover recently announced a tie-up with BMW to develop electric drive units (EDUs), though that would not in itself rule out a PSA Group deal – BMW and PSA have already worked together on developing internal combustion engines.
A PSA Group/Jaguar Land Rover tie-up is seen as a good fit by many as it would give the French firm a foothold in the US and also see it add more upmarket models to its line-up.
Jaguar Land Rover has its global headquarters in Coventry while PSA Group’s UK headquarters are also in the city.
Citroen’s Paris centenary celebrations saw 100 of the company’s most historic cars on display near the Eiffel Tower.
Ms Jackson is regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the global automotive industry and earlier this year her achievements were recognised when she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
She began working her first job in the automotive industry in a temporary position as an accounting clerk at Jaguar in 1977.
Later that year she began a clerical role at MG Rover Group.
During her time there the company sponsored her through an executive MBA (EMBA) programme at Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick.
Ms Jackson held several positions in finance and sales at Rover before being named finance director of Rover France in 1998.
She joined Citroen UK in 2005 as finance director, and became managing director of Citroen UK and Ireland five years later.
She went on to be appointed CEO of the Citroen brand globally in June 2014.
Since then Citroen has embarked on an all-encompassing brand transformation and launched a raft of new models.
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