MUMBAI (AFP) - - India's top vehicle maker Tata Motors on Friday posted an annual loss, blaming the slump on a fall in sales of its British luxury marque Land Rover as the global downturn sapped demand.

The company said in a statement it made a loss of 25 billion rupees (S$757 million) after tax in the financial year to the end of March, compared with a net profit of 21.7 billion rupees in 2007-08.

The loss is Tata Motors' first since 2001.

Total income across the company, which is part of the Tata Group conglomerate, was 709 billion rupees. Out of that, Jaguar and Land Rover accounted for 392 billion rupees.

Tata Motors, which last year paid 2.3 billion dollars to buy Jaguar and Land Rover, in May posted standalone net profits for 2008-09 of 10 billion rupees, down more than 50 percent from the previous year.

The company said sales across the group were hit by the global economic downturn, which saw demand and vehicle financing dry up.

"In 2008 therefore, Land Rover sales fell considerably. However, Jaguar was able to maintain the sales level primarily on the back of a very strong consumer response to the newly-launched XF sedan," it added, without giving specifics.

In terms of the loss, the statement said that "The company has actively responded to this changed situation by taking a number of urgent and long-term measures.

"These include cutting costs drastically and working on a plan of substantial cost reduction, aligning production with demand and tight control over cash flows," it said.

The company launched the world's cheapest car, the Nano, at just 100,000 rupees earlier this year.

Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles are expected to be sold on the Indian market from next week.