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The board bought into this nonsense before this guy took over from the French CEO before him. I too doubt they have learned much of anything. Plus the EU is not backing down on the ev mandates enough to force a real change. It’s going to take a wholesale overhaul of the company and ownership and a massive reinvestment to make a difference. PT Barnum used to say “there is a sucker born every minute” but hope runs eternal.
After the disastrous rebranding he was quoted in several reports:"Adrian Mardell, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "The magic of Jaguar is close to my heart - an original British luxury brand unmatched in its heritage, artistry and emotional magnetism.
"That's the Jaguar we are recapturing and we will create the same sense of awe that surrounded iconic models like the E-type.
"Our journey is already under way, guided by our original ethos to copy nothing - and the results will be nothing short of spectacular."
Results will be so "spectacular" that he couldn't hang around for another year to experience it first-hand?
Let's not forget that he was the proud head of the self-imposed DEI policies at JLR according to his own posts on LinkedIn. That to me is the altar where the Jaguar brand was killed on.
Similar text in most articles about this appointment but what stands out to me is "He is currently serving as Group Chief Financial Officer of Tata Motors".
So he is a beancounter, does not bode well for JLR.
Like I have been saying for years now it's only a matter of when not if the Jaguar part of JLR is sold off to some Chinese conglomerate, my best guess is within the next two years, and that will truly be the end of Jaguar as we knew it.
Similar text in most articles about this appointment but what stands out to me is "He is currently serving as Group Chief Financial Officer of Tata Motors".
So he is a beancounter, does not bode well for JLR.
Like I have been saying for years now it's only a matter of when not if the Jaguar part of JLR is sold off to some Chinese conglomerate, my best guess is within the next two years, and that will truly be the end of Jaguar as we knew it.
I suppose there was a time when this sort of potential eventuality would have hurt more. The company has already basically middle fingered the brand’s customers, and effectively the brand itself, so if this does happen it will more-or-less just feel like a continuation of all this nonsense.
It would be a shame though. It might possibly not be a death sentence if a Chinese company buys it. Look at Geely and their purchase of Volvo. It’s still headquartered in Sweden and ran essentially the same way it was prior to the purchase from what ai understand. It really depends.
Sir William Lyons provided a luxury vehicle at lower price. They sold like hotcakes.
Tata intends to reverse that concept. We'll see.
I can see what they are thinking and I'm not entirely optimistic. They sort of tried to position themselves with some more affordable models and it didn't work. The X-type, although not a bad car, was a rebadged Contour. They tried the XE, the E-Pace and the only thing that has really been a money maker for them lately has been the F-Pace. I personally feel that better marketing coul dhave really turned the F-Type into something bigger. The 'Good to be Bad' campaign was brilliant and very much under used.
Jaguar has never really been able to shake the reputation as being unreliable. For a daily driver in a more afforable segment, that's tough to overcome. Maybe as a high end entity they can seucre a spot. They have to try something different.
Jaguar seems to act as if the heir to a great fortune, allowing it to lounge idly and associate only with elite friends.
Running an automobile manufacturing company, in modern times is tremendously complex.
Maybe, whoever is actually calling the shots wants to own the legend and mystique but is not profit motivated.
I wonder if the British government is still funding JLR to keep jobs and the marque at home.
Add this Jaguar mystery to the list of things that I don't understand.
I think everybody reading this thread needs to understand that the "LR", of JLR, Land Rover, is coining it at the moment, and as Jaguar, (the 'J') part, were losing money hand over fist, stpping Jaguar production and sales has actually benefited the company. Very, very, sad to say, and as an XE owner it is really sad that it has come to this. However, at my age, I suppose my XE will be my last Jaguar. The craze for what I call "double-decker buses", aka SUVs, seems to be far from slowing down, and elegance and style has been totally forgotten, and anybody trying to sell such cars in volume is doomed to failure. Obviously there will always be a niche market for such cars, but limited production volumes means high prices as the cost reductions from mass production aren't there.
I think everybody reading this thread needs to understand that the "LR", of JLR, Land Rover, is coining it at the moment, and as Jaguar, (the 'J') part, were losing money hand over fist, stopping Jaguar production and sales has actually benefited the company. ... .
Stopping production makes sense. The very odd effort to rebrand does not.
Shock and awe? Or are the inmates running the asylum?
Reality: I was not Jaguar's target demographic. Now that I could be, I'm still not.
Just an old guy loving old cars.
