Indian industrial group Mahindra & Mahindra has pulled out of the race to buy Jaguar and Land Rover, it has emerged.

The company is thought to have been more interested in Land Rover, though Ford is insisting the two marques be sold together.

Fears were also raised about the ability of the Jaguar and Land Rover to meet the proposed 130g per km CO2 limit which could be imposed by the EU from 2012.

The remaining bidders are Tata, Ripplewood Holdings, One Equity Partners and TPG.