(Yicai Global) Feb. 14 -- Jaguar Land Rover China has refuted media reports that domestic carmaker Great Wall Motor is in negotiations with its parent company to buy the British carmaker.

The claims are just groundless speculation, Jiemian News cited a company statement as saying. Great Wall Motor has also denied the reports, according to Tencent-backed QQ News.

Chinese auto website Cheshi claimed yesterday that Great Wall was discussing a potential takeover with Jaguar Land Rover Automotive's owner, Mumbai-based Tata Motors, citing executives from the alleged buyer.

The rumors coincide with Tata reporting a INR270 billion (USD3.9 billion) loss in the third quarter of last year, its worst ever quarterly performance and largely down to sluggish sales in China -- JLR's biggest market.

JLR contributed to more than the overall group loss, racking up a USD4.1 billion deficit on revenue of USD8.1 billion, Tata's financials showed.

Editor: James Boynton