Jaguar Chief: The Company Is “At a Crossroads”
Add Jaguar to the list of companies that announced they’d be going fully electric, then ran into a wall of consumer resistance.
‘“It’s been hugely frustrating—saying we’re going all EV then ‘nothing’.” That’s the admission from Jaguar’s new managing director Rawdon Glover about the brand’s current holding pattern of no new cars for five years amid a plan to go all electric… and extremely upmarket,” said a story in Top Gear.
The publication says, “We’ll see a glimpse of Jaguar’s new design direction and ‘brand world’ this winter, with an angular four-door fastback expected first, before a pair of SUVs. Glover, who took up the MD gig in March 2023, says the production car will offer a range of 430 miles.”
“Jaguar is at a crossroads,” said Rawdon. “Then-JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré said at the time [the plan to go all-EV was announced] that Jaguar had a choice to elevate itself out of the premium space [into being a super-luxury brand] and that choice has since been validated.
“We decided on this structure in 2021, but cars don’t appear overnight,” Rawdon told Top Gear. “We need to take [the brand] back to when we made beautiful desirable cars, not in huge numbers and not having huge numbers [of models] in the portfolio. Until recently we were up to six or seven models.”
The future is “not just some new cars, it’s a complete brand reinvention,” the Jag boss insists. “With every decision we make, we ask ‘is this going to make people think about Jaguar the way we need them to?’ If it doesn’t make them want to pay £120,000 ($157,500), we don’t do it.”
With no new product to sell after the F-Pace disappears, he expects to lose some dealers. “We’ve had to do some very painful things, but this is a long term plan.”
Just a glance at that photo tells the story…and now more SUV’s?
Unwise, unsupported choices. A drastic departure from what they did well. Not the first time we see this. I love when a brand needs to “re-educate” the consumer. Always ends badly. And who got played the worst was the dealers who were forced to build showrooms and service facilities at an astonishing level of finish. We are watching the end of Jag right here.
RAF… sad but I believe you’re correct this signals the end of Jaguar. They still haven’t gotten their credibility as a luxury model back since FORD ran them into the ground trying to build them like Tauruses. And then reducing vehicle choices down to 3 models starting @ 100 -150K?? Yikes
“The end”? I sure hope not. We will be leaving the premier car market to the Germans!
Pompous quips from one with no clue. Quit crying about how your customer is an idiot and how your cars don’t turn a profit for the company. We own two, an XJ and an XK. And a Range Rover. Leave the SUVs to LR and build jaw droppingly beautiful Saloons, Coupes, and Drophead Coupes. Two models. The Saloon in SWB and LWB, and the Coupe in open and closed formats. They should cost $75k but look like $200k, that is the Jaguar formula, since the SS100. Keep looking for your mythical buyer of your vapor ware upmarket future. Ask Danny Bahar how well that worked out at Lotus!
You are so right. They need to hire you.
Exactly, except maybe they can cost $100k given inflation… That “formula” is what made them a success. These “reimaginations” don’t work! I’ve had three Jaguars and my parents had five over the years. The current “plan” is certain to fail. So very sad.
Jaguar is not at a crossroads, its at a dead end.
Please no!
The founders of Warby Parker originally intended to sell their glasses for $45.00. Glasses are inexpensive to produce and the profit margin on some ‘designer eyeware’ is absurd. They were told that price was not enough. Partly because the profits would not allow for expansion, advertising etc. but mostly because consumers would never believe you could get a good set at that cost regardless of the quality. So $ 95.00 was settled on. Jaguar seems to be doing something of the same. Fewer models aimed at a more affluent market . The “Divest and multiply” approach. Convincing potential buyers is another story. While not quite a 180 close. That will take time and capital.
Jaguar would be better off creating a new spin-off upscale brand than trying to con customers into believing their products are worth six figures; the firm has earned a very well-deserved reputation for shoddy reliability and rapid depreciation. This sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Taking a brand upmarket is a recipe for failure. This is particularly applicable to Jaguar as a British brand since Bentley and Rolls Royce already own that very limited market space. Regardless if how good the product is, customers want the badge on the car to reflect their monetary outlay. The quintessential example is the Volkswagen Phaeton.
It’s sad to watch such a storied car brand commit suicide. I’ve had 7, still have 2. Even as a car poor enthusiast, I’ve been able to maintain them on my own. But, with dwindling to no parts and dealer support, I’m beginning to question my ownership. And electric? As the Wizard of Oz said, “Not no way. Not no how.”
Crossroads? I think they are past that point, they have been on the off ramp for quite awhile. I know very few people interested in NEW Jaguars. Almost no one thinks about them anymore.
Fire your ceo, electric will finish Jaguar.
Listen to your customers. They tell you no electric. Oh well, we will always have the xke to admire!
I’ve loved Jaguars since I was a kid in the 1960’s. A few years ago, I realized their entry level E-Pace is affordable and planned to finally own one. That plan was put on hold during the expensive restoration of a Studebaker that’s been in my family since it was new. I was hoping the Jaguar we know and love would still be there when my finances readjust. If they will only offer EV’s and/or high-end pricing, I’m out.
Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot, then saying it is necessary for the long-term. Don’t throw the old away, until the new is ready – if then. Like others, I fear this is basically the end of Jaguar, and lustable cars like the E-type, the XK8, and the many beautiful sedans.