Difficult times for the British premium manufacturer continue
The British brand Jaguar is losing popularity, due not only to the global shortage of microchips, but also to the lack of new products. The next models of the brand will appear only in 2025, and their development is entrusted to Matt Becker, who was attracted by the competitor Aston Martin, reports AutoExpress.
Jaguar’s results for 2021 are 86,270 sales, which is 15% less than in 2020. Especially the last quarter is the worst since 2013, when only 14,407 new cars were sold. The company justifies the global shortage of electronic components, but this is only part of the problem, as at the same time Land Rover ended last year with a positive result – 334,586 sales, an increase of 3.4%.
Land Rover’s advantage is in the development of the model range. Last autumn, the flagship Range Rover changed generations, and its sales are just beginning. Later this year, the brand will present a 3-row version of the Defender, which is also expected to be in high demand.
At the same time, Jaguar is at a standstill after Frenchman Thierry Bolore, who previously headed Renault, took over the management of Jaguar Land Rover in the fall of 2020. He stopped launching two ready-made models – the electric liftback Jaguar XJ and 7-seater Jaguar J-Pace crossover believes that they will sell poorly and will further exacerbate the crisis with the brand.
Bolore decided to completely change the course of Jaguar and turn it into a luxury electric brand with a small circulation by 2025, which will compete with Aston Martin, Bentley and Ferrari. This automatically led people to accept the current models of the brand as obsolete (no one needs cars that the company’s management recognizes as unsuccessful and which will not receive successors).
Jaguar’s future luxury electric models will receive a completely new platform and in terms of technology will have virtually nothing to do with future Land Rover models. Accordingly, they will be made by new people – immediately after the announcement of the brand’s strategy began clearing the team that has so far developed new models. The brand’s chief designer Julian Thompson has been fired and Jaguar Land Rover’s chief engineer Nick Rodgers has resigned.
He was followed by Mike Cross, Jaguar’s chief engineer, who spent 37 years at the company. He will be replaced by Matt Becker, who will be responsible for developing the new models. He has extensive experience in the automotive industry and has worked for Aston Martin for the past 7 years.
