The South Korean newspaper Chosun IIlbo has quoted a Hyundai Motor executive confirming that Hyundai had rejected an offer from Ford to buy Jaguar, with or without Land Rover.

“The foreign press repeatedly reported that we’re likely to take over Ford’s Jaguar, but we ruled out the option,” he told the paper.

The unnamed executive confirmed that Hyundai had seen no investment incentive in Jaguar, and added: “We are in any case unable to buy more car brands because we are focusing our capacity on building overseas plants.”

The Seoul-based company cited efforts to increase production in North America, Asia and Europe and to develop vehicles that run on fuels other than petrol as more pressing priorities.

Jaguar was reported by the Korean paper to have lost $1.44 billion (£760 million) in the first half of this year.

Ford does not normally report the profit/loss accounts individual PAG brands.

Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion (£1.3 billion) in 1989 and has subsequently invested over $5 billion (£2.6 billion) in improving production facilities, closing the Brown’s Lane plant and opening a line in Halewood, and in developing the brand’s current model line-up.