Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth has said the car maker is not for sale - dismissing speculation a deal with PSA Group is in the pipeline.
Dr Ralf Speth has spoken out following a raft of speculation that a partnership with French car giant PSA Group was being discussed at the highest level.
The rumours began several weeks ago and suggested Jaguar Land Rover was set to enter a merger with PSA - which owns the Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall and Opel brands - or even be subject to a takeover.
Speaking the automotive magazine Auto Express Mr Speth was adamant the car maker is not being sold.
His comments come after Jaguar Land Rover announced a partnership with BMW to produce electric drive units (EDUs) for the electric cars of the future.
Other car companies have also been linked with Jaguar Land Rover as the firm continues to battle a series of challenges - including slowing sales in China, declining demand for diesel vehicles and uncertainty over Brexit.
Speaking to Auto Express Mr Speth acknowledged Jaguar Land Rover was going through a tough period financially but said the likes of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler have suffered financial problems of their own recently.
Dismissing sale rumours he said: “We are owned by Tata of India. This is the way things will stay.
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“Tata - with Jaguar Land Rover - is a leader, producing leading products that have won a total of six World Car Awards in the last three years.”
Auto Express said that Mr Speth was looking forward to welcoming Ratan Tata and other senior figures from the company to the West Midlands this summer.
The purpose of their visit is said to be to view and give the production go-ahead for several new Jaguar Land Rover products.
Dr Charles Tennant, Land Rover’s former chief engineer and a respected automotive industry analyst, believes some sort of deal that would see Jaguar Land Rover merging with another car maker or being taken over is almost certain.
He said: “Rumours of a collaboration or even a sell-off by Tata Motors to PSA have been swirling for some time now.
“Meanwhile JLR sales have continued to plunge at the worst time possible time as huge investment is now required to develop electrified vehicles for the future.
“What is now very clear is that JLR cannot simply go it alone any more with sales of less than 600,000 vehicles a year and further losses anticipated.
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“It simply will not generate sufficient cash to fund its own future anymore, and Tata Motors already has debts of more than £10 billion.
“So it’s either a sell-off or significant collaboration to share future investment with another manufacturer.”