Jaguar Land Rover acquires Bowler

INDIAN conglomerate owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has acquired Bowler, the UK-based manufacturer of all-terrain performance cars, parts and rally raid vehicles.

The Bowler business is now fully-owned by Tata Motors.

Bowler will continue to operate from its premises in Belper for the foreseeable future.

Since its inception, Bowler has had a close affiliation with Land Rover, which was formalised with a brand partnership in 2012 that led to the creation of the popular Defender Challenge rally series by Bowler in 2014-2016.

Founded in 1985, Bowler pioneered the production of dedicated off-road competition cars in the UK and has achieved success in international rally raid events.

Britain’s largest carmaker said in a statement on Wednesday (18): “Special vehicle operations is a fast-growing business that amplifies the key attributes of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to create distinctive world-class products, including SV, vehicle personalisation and classic. Adding Bowler as a fourth business unit is a natural fit.”

Michael Van Der Sande, managing director, JLR Special Vehicle Operations, said: “At special vehicle operations, we are all eager to start working with our new colleagues at Bowler. Adding the Bowler team’s skills and experience to those of SV, vehicle personalisation and classic is a key step in our strategy to create an exciting and diverse portfolio of products and businesses within special vehicle operations.

“Our immediate focus is on ensuring continuity of support for Bowler employees and customers during this transition to Jaguar Land Rover.”

Company founder Drew Bowler died suddenly in 2016. His legacy and spirit lives on in the team based at Bowler’s premises in Derbyshire, including members of Drew’s family, JLR said.