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.
This is historically what happened to AMC. They had a good reputation and sales as a “more bang for the buck” mid range and economy car. When Roy Abernethy took over in 1962 he wanted to take the company out of the common Ford/Chevy/Plymouth territory and more into Buick/Olds/Mercury/(Dodge?) territory. More profit in that segment. What they ended up doing was alienating their value minded customer base and sales after 64 plummeted. They made a bit of a comeback around 68, but never fully recovered. Part of that was they went away from sharing as many parts between models as possible — like the 63-64 line-up.
Jag is going in the right direction by reducing models. All electric? I think they are alienating a lot of their traditional customers like AMC did. Moving even more upscale across the board? Same mistake AMC made. Seeking those higher paying customers is not a bad idea — make a high luxury model, and you can make that electric only. Maybe start a super luxury brand like Toyota and Nissan did (Lexus/Infinity — some are obviously face lifted Toyota/Nissan bodies). But keep models your traditional customers will buy, and be able to afford. Electric versions, or an electric model line beside ICE/hybrid models. Making more models does cost more, but making a few models that don’t sell well hurts. There are two ways to make money — lots of product at low prices (Chevy), or less product that costs more (someone like Jag). They want to move into even less product at an even higher cost — more profit per car, but you have to sell ENOUGH product. I’m not sure they can with really high prices AND electric only.
The main reason manufacturers like the electric platform is it’s easier to change and cheaper to manufacture. Need to extend the wheelbase? Just need some more wire. Width isn’t hard — wider axles, or if hub motors, just some more wire. The main design obstacle is the battery pack size. If they make a flat platform with batteries in the floor you can just make some suspension and body changes and build virtually anything on top of it! No expensive custom transmissions or drive shafts. Much cheaper to build an electric…
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.
I own a 2020 F Pace SVR and love it with no issues. I love because of the exhaust sound and horsepower I think the Choice of Jaguar to want to only build high priced electric vehicles will absolutely kill the brand
Ford did not run Jaguar into the ground; TATA did. When was the last time you saw a Jaguar add ? I live in NYC and I haven’t seen a Jag add in at least four years. No adds no sales, no sales good by Jaguar. TATA hired two Germans to run the company and they ran it into the ground. I could go on forever but just understand they need an American to run the company Like Mclaren and Astin Martim.
They ruined Jaguar. Going from a time when they, according to Enzo, designed the most beautiful car ever, the E-type, to the luxurious sedans dripping with leather and wood, the V-12s. And now they are going to do nothing but pump out a bunch of electric SUVs that few people want and look like all of the rest of them out there. So sad and so misguided.