Sanjoy Sen is a chemical engineer. He contested Alyn and Deeside in the 2019 general election.
It’s 2007 and Jaguar need an ad campaign for their new XF model. What they go with starts with a middle-aged bloke blasting said saloon down a race track. And finishes with him energetically swinging a young woman around a dancefloor. All backed by a sixties rock track. Zero marks for originality but this was a campaign that knew its (declining) target market.
Fast forward to 2024 and Jaguar isn’t launching a new model. It’s announcing there’ll be an announcement.
In fact, it isn’t selling any cars at all until 2026 when a new all-electric range will emerge. But they have just produced a car-free advert. Which has achieved the near impossible by simultaneously outraging The Guardian and Nigel Farage.
Jaguar (sorry, jaGUar) has been through tough times before.
This isn’t even their first rebrand. And whilst Jeremy Clarkson, a huge Jag fan, may well be emerging as the future voice of conservatism, this is still Con Home, not Top Gear – for now at least. So, let’s keep the brake horsepower discussion to a minimum and understand the fundamental challenges facing Jaguar – and the wider car industry.
How did Jaguar end up here?
Sir William Lyons launched the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922 and soon abbreviated the name. But coming out of World War II, SS Cars wasn’t creating the right vibe and the big cat brand was born. The fifties and sixties were Jaguar’s heyday thanks to saloons (including the Morse MkII) and sports cars (E-Type) that still define the marque to this day. All wasn’t rosy, however: quality wasn’t even close to that of rivals Mercedes-Benz. To this day, reliability and customer satisfaction remain problematic.
Miraculously, Jaguar then survived almost 20 years within the state monolith British Leyland before emerging in 1984 under Sir John Egan. In 1990, Ford paid a hefty $2.5 billion and invested in heavily in its British factories. But their model strategy was tragically flawed: pastiches of classic styles flopped in a market defined by crisp Audi saloons. Forced into a fire sale following the 2008 world economic crisis, Ford sold out to Tata at a loss.
How is Jaguar faring now?
The Indian conglomerate initially enjoyed success. New, sharper models hit the showrooms and the branding remained unmistakably British. But the market was already moving on and sales began to slide, hitting just 61,000 by 2022. German premium brands were getting into volume sales via compact models and sub-brands (BMW MINI). And, suddenly, everybody wanted an SUV, not a saloon or a sports car.
Today, Jaguar’s greatest threat isn’t in Munich or Stuttgart, it’s down the corridor.
Sister brand Land-Rover also faces major challenges but as a natural SUV maker, it outsells Jaguar almost five to one. With both marques competing in the same segment, the latest plan is to re-position Jaguar further upmarket. How effectively Tata can do so remains to be seen, however.
The high-end market is over-crowded and over-dependent on China with some British brands (Bentley, Rolls-Royce) currently faring much better than others (Aston Martin, Lotus). And the recent advertisement furore has thrown Jaguar’s plight into the spotlight, not great timing for Tata in a year where they shut Port Talbot’s blast furnaces. Rumours have long persisted that Tata are looking to sell up but the latest talk is that JLR will soon stand for Just Land Rover with a spin-off in the offing for Jaguar.
And what of the wider car industry?
Jaguar aren’t the only car company facing difficulties.
The whole auto industry will soon have to come to terms with the major implications of everything from self-driving vehicles to Gen Z just not being into cars. For now, the sector is wrestling with electrification to meet ever-stricter emissions legislation including the EU 2035 ban on new petrols and diesels.
Whilst Jaguar intend to re-emerge as all-electric brand in 2026, Volvo have already rowed back from their similar 2030 commitment. Meanwhile, Porsche (and other high-end brands) can’t shift their pricey EVs. Even mighty Volkswagen has announced its first ever lay-offs and has been forced in a merger with America’s Rivian. Here in the UK, following strong initial demand (mostly from fleets), EV growth has slowed and won’t be helped by recent new taxes and rising electricity costs. All the while, debate rages on whether to relax electrification deadlines or stick with them.
And all this might just be the calm before the storm.
China has been steadily building a dominant EV position from battery metal extraction through to finished vehicles. The latest generation of Chinese EVs are modern, competitively priced (including SAIC’s MG range) and are set to flood international markets: BYD has already overtaken Tesla as world number one. The EU has signed off on major tariffs (up to 45 per cent) despite German fears of a trade war crippling their auto exports to China. The UK government currently has no intention to follow suit but may come under pressure to protect domestic EV producers – including Tata who received taxpayer support (£500 million) for its Somerset battery plant.
Following heavy backlash, Jaguar has urged the public to “trust and reserve judgement”. We haven’t seen the new models yet and, whatever we make of the ad, managing director Rawdon Glover recognizes change is vital and that Jaguar needs to stand out. But brand values still matter. In the latest Range Rover ad, we see the driver breaking the rules, going too fast, then parking up inconsiderately. If that isn’t honoring long-held Range Rover traditions, I don’t know what is.
Sanjoy Sen is a chemical engineer. He contested Alyn and Deeside in the 2019 general election.
It’s 2007 and Jaguar need an ad campaign for their new XF model. What they go with starts with a middle-aged bloke blasting said saloon down a race track. And finishes with him energetically swinging a young woman around a dancefloor. All backed by a sixties rock track. Zero marks for originality but this was a campaign that knew its (declining) target market.
Fast forward to 2024 and Jaguar isn’t launching a new model. It’s announcing there’ll be an announcement.
In fact, it isn’t selling any cars at all until 2026 when a new all-electric range will emerge. But they have just produced a car-free advert. Which has achieved the near impossible by simultaneously outraging The Guardian and Nigel Farage.
Jaguar (sorry, jaGUar) has been through tough times before.
This isn’t even their first rebrand. And whilst Jeremy Clarkson, a huge Jag fan, may well be emerging as the future voice of conservatism, this is still Con Home, not Top Gear – for now at least. So, let’s keep the brake horsepower discussion to a minimum and understand the fundamental challenges facing Jaguar – and the wider car industry.
How did Jaguar end up here?
Sir William Lyons launched the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922 and soon abbreviated the name. But coming out of World War II, SS Cars wasn’t creating the right vibe and the big cat brand was born. The fifties and sixties were Jaguar’s heyday thanks to saloons (including the Morse MkII) and sports cars (E-Type) that still define the marque to this day. All wasn’t rosy, however: quality wasn’t even close to that of rivals Mercedes-Benz. To this day, reliability and customer satisfaction remain problematic.
Miraculously, Jaguar then survived almost 20 years within the state monolith British Leyland before emerging in 1984 under Sir John Egan. In 1990, Ford paid a hefty $2.5 billion and invested in heavily in its British factories. But their model strategy was tragically flawed: pastiches of classic styles flopped in a market defined by crisp Audi saloons. Forced into a fire sale following the 2008 world economic crisis, Ford sold out to Tata at a loss.
How is Jaguar faring now?
The Indian conglomerate initially enjoyed success. New, sharper models hit the showrooms and the branding remained unmistakably British. But the market was already moving on and sales began to slide, hitting just 61,000 by 2022. German premium brands were getting into volume sales via compact models and sub-brands (BMW MINI). And, suddenly, everybody wanted an SUV, not a saloon or a sports car.
Today, Jaguar’s greatest threat isn’t in Munich or Stuttgart, it’s down the corridor.
Sister brand Land-Rover also faces major challenges but as a natural SUV maker, it outsells Jaguar almost five to one. With both marques competing in the same segment, the latest plan is to re-position Jaguar further upmarket. How effectively Tata can do so remains to be seen, however.
The high-end market is over-crowded and over-dependent on China with some British brands (Bentley, Rolls-Royce) currently faring much better than others (Aston Martin, Lotus). And the recent advertisement furore has thrown Jaguar’s plight into the spotlight, not great timing for Tata in a year where they shut Port Talbot’s blast furnaces. Rumours have long persisted that Tata are looking to sell up but the latest talk is that JLR will soon stand for Just Land Rover with a spin-off in the offing for Jaguar.
And what of the wider car industry?
Jaguar aren’t the only car company facing difficulties.
The whole auto industry will soon have to come to terms with the major implications of everything from self-driving vehicles to Gen Z just not being into cars. For now, the sector is wrestling with electrification to meet ever-stricter emissions legislation including the EU 2035 ban on new petrols and diesels.
Whilst Jaguar intend to re-emerge as all-electric brand in 2026, Volvo have already rowed back from their similar 2030 commitment. Meanwhile, Porsche (and other high-end brands) can’t shift their pricey EVs. Even mighty Volkswagen has announced its first ever lay-offs and has been forced in a merger with America’s Rivian. Here in the UK, following strong initial demand (mostly from fleets), EV growth has slowed and won’t be helped by recent new taxes and rising electricity costs. All the while, debate rages on whether to relax electrification deadlines or stick with them.
And all this might just be the calm before the storm.
China has been steadily building a dominant EV position from battery metal extraction through to finished vehicles. The latest generation of Chinese EVs are modern, competitively priced (including SAIC’s MG range) and are set to flood international markets: BYD has already overtaken Tesla as world number one. The EU has signed off on major tariffs (up to 45 per cent) despite German fears of a trade war crippling their auto exports to China. The UK government currently has no intention to follow suit but may come under pressure to protect domestic EV producers – including Tata who received taxpayer support (£500 million) for its Somerset battery plant.
Following heavy backlash, Jaguar has urged the public to “trust and reserve judgement”. We haven’t seen the new models yet and, whatever we make of the ad, managing director Rawdon Glover recognizes change is vital and that Jaguar needs to stand out. But brand values still matter. In the latest Range Rover ad, we see the driver breaking the rules, going too fast, then parking up inconsiderately. If that isn’t honoring long-held Range Rover traditions, I don’t know what is.