India’s Tata Motors hits 14-month low as Q3 results spark demand concerns for JLR

Indian carmaker Tata Motors’ shares plummeted about 9% to a 14-month low on Thursday, after its third-quarter results set off growth and margin concerns for its luxury Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) segment.

The stock was the top loser on the benchmark Nifty 50 index and the Nifty auto index. Nifty 50 was trading up 0.41%, while the auto index was down 0.3%.

Tata Motors on Wednesday flagged weak demand in China for its JLR business, but said sales will improve in the ongoing quarter.

However, analysts at BofA Securities said that JLR’s growth and margins for fiscal year 2026 still look unclear, while Motilal Oswal analysts said Tata Motors’ full-year margin target of 8.5% “is tough to achieve”.

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Other brokerages, including Jefferies, also flagged concerns for JLR, which is facing weak demand in China and Europe as consumers opt for less expensive local options.

Tata Motors said it will remain watchful on the region’s demand situation.

JLR’s profit before tax fell nearly 17% from a year ago to 523 million pounds ($650.98 million). It accounts for three-fourths of Tata Motors’ overall pre-tax profit.

The company is also facing headwinds in the domestic market, with local car sales rising 1%, slower than the industry average of 4.5%.

Overall, Tata Motors’ profit fell to 54.51 billion rupees, falling significantly short of analysts’ expectation of a profit of 67.42 billion rupees.

At least 10 brokerages lowered price targets on Tata Motors, while five lowered their ratings, as per data compiled by LSEG.