Ford Motor Co. named Tata Motors Ltd. of India as the top bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover, with Tata itself indicating "focused negotiations at a more detailed level" are now underway.

In a statement issued by Ford, the executive vice president of the company's European units, Lewis Booth, indicated negotiations over a period of weeks will be needed to solidify the deal.

"There is still a considerable amount of work to do," said Booth, "and while no final decision has been made, we will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata car.com' class=a11 style='text-decoration:none' target=_blank>motors over the forthcoming weeks with a view to securing an agreement that is in the best interests of all parties concerned."

Speculation about the amount of bids submitted by potential buyers, including Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. and One Equity Partners LLC, places the amount between $1.5 and 2 billion.

Tata Motors, based in Mumbai, emailed a statement to the Associated Press, which read in part, "We hope both parties can reach an agreement in the forthcoming weeks, though these are complex discussion and there is still much work that needs to be done before that position is reached.

Ford, grappling with a loss of $12.6 billion in 2006, has begun a difficult turn around, earning $88 million in the first nine months of 2007. The deal with Tata would provide a badly needed infusion of cash for the company, which mortgaged its assets to continue operation.