There’s no two ways about it, if this morning's news is true, this is a bleak day in the history of Jaguar Land Rover, with its wounds now set to be torn asunder for all to pick over.
First, some context: Jaguar Land Rover is not alone in facing a crisis, although the fact is the UK’s biggest car maker may add some shock for homegrown readers. In the coming days, weeks and months we anticipate other giants of the industry, including the mighty GM and Ford, to formally reveal plans of their own, on a far greater scale, in the face of their own challenges.
However, there’s no escaping the fact that, for Jaguar especially - given Land Rover's greater sales, standing and profitability - the cuts are a bitter blow, albeit the result of a strategy based on unfulfilled ambition that now looks to have relied too much on a virtuous circle of sales success, undone by circumstance and falling short.
Valid excuses aren’t hard to pick out - you don’t win by being cautious - but the cruel reality is that the likes of Volvo have risen, phoenix-like from near-doom, in the same market sector and with similar raw materials at their disposal, while upstart brands such as Tesla have leap-frogged the pecking order by being more ambitious still.
As you’ll read elsewhere, Jaguar’s model portfolio is on the ropes, in some cases potentially awaiting a hammer blow.
In sales terms the saloon portfolio is a disaster zone: the Jaguar XE is a relative flop, the Jaguar XF struggling and the Jaguar XJ barely has a pulse. No matter that each is a very fine car, comparable (and more) in our road testers’ eyes with the best; sales are sales.
The Jaguar F-Type sports car is as beautiful a car as there is on the road - and in those terms it serves its role as a halo model - but its sales figures cannot justify the investment.
Meanwhile, the Jaguar E-Pace and Jaguar F-Pace SUVs provide some cheer, but what’s apparent from the drop in sales of the latter is that many buyers are simply opting now to purchase the former. Cannibalising your own customers (not to say those of the Land Rover Discovery Sport) cannot make great business sense, especially if they are buying the smaller, cheaper model.
But while strong demand for the low volume and low profit Jaguar I-Pace offers scant relief, it does perhaps offer a hint at the future, as scooped by Autocar last year.
Analysts believe that a plan to reinvent Jaguar as an electric-only pioneer is well-advanced but not yet signed off. No doubt minds are very focused on that today. There are no guarantees, especially in the current climate: it’ll take brave souls to call whether it will be catastrophic or transformative to its fortunes.
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Tesla
As I write this I read that Tesla are to shed 7% of their workforce in order to cut costs. They need to start making some money - from what I have read, the Model3 is far more expensive to build than it could have been.
I think they have pushed the electrification of the market forward, which was Elon Musk's aim as I understand it, to prove that it could be done.
First movers do not always have a long term market advantage as others can let you create the market and come in later, plus they can learn from your mistakes.
Now we have iPace, and Porsche / Daimler Benz / Audi about to enter the upmarket electric space, it will be interesting to see what that does to sales of the model S/X, particularly in Europe.
To put a different spin on Jaguar sales; the drop in the UK in 2017 was less than the total market drop. European market share was 0.17% in 2011, 0.44% in 2017, sales of Chinese built Jag's increased from 18453 (Jan-Nov 2017) to 25048 (Jan-nov 2018), although some of these must have been substitutional for UK built vehicles. USA sales well down 36180 (Jan-Nov 2017) to 27021 (Jan-Nov 2018). iPace only arrived in November so that should help in 2019, but sales of saloons are struggling in the US, witness Ford planning to abandon everything apart from pickups & SUVs.
Tesla has bought a new animal
Tesla has bought a new animal into the cage and has changed the direction of the worlds car makers single handed, its success is so obvious which you ignore at your peril
Jag better change to fully electric and not wait around like its pedantic management before they turn into a complete relic itself.
Catering for the young forward thing imaginative young is what will transform this company, not trying to cater and keep happy a dying breed of fossils who believe ice engines are still the way to go.
Jaguar can keep a small devision to cater for that ever decreasing band of the elderly but move forward with vigour with smart new leading engineers
Finally get rid of that overrated designer Callum, dull boring prat designs
Premium.....l
Jaguar’s salvation...?, what’s that then?, could you honestly see Jaguar building bargain basement Jaguar’s...?, no, Jaguar has been one of Britain’s prestige Car makers since Adam was a Boy, problem just now?, competition, there are a few just as good of not better (I’m sure you all could name a few better)which is why Jaguar would be reluctant to dilute there position in the upper premium market, ie, we’re not going to see Jaguar’s competing with the Ford Focus for instance....