Future of Jaguar - looks bad? - If you work in a JLR dealership.

[exeterjeep]

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/exclusive-jaguar-set-to-slash-number-of-uk-dealers-to-under-20-in-just-two-years/281052

British car manufacturer Jaguar is set to drastically cut its dealer network from more than 80 today to less than 20 in just two years.

The car manufacturer has told its dealer partners that it doesn’t need a large number of the sites anymore as it transitions to an all-electric future.

[MPx]

Haha! For sales I get it, especially if largely moving online, but for service/repair - they must be deluded.  Unless they make a step change in reliability they need all the repair bays they can get.  Warranty claims are always sky high and in the current climate many cars are stacked waiting on backorder parts.  Mind you I wouldn't use a MD anyway as they are stupid expensive and have a habit of lying - good times ahead for the indies then.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Wow, that would be the same number of UK locations as Ferrari! Proper niche manufacturer.

[Kimbers]

They have been so far behind the Curve in terms of design and following the market and its shown.

Overpriced, poor reliability, poor residual values and if they think going all Electric will solve their issue they should really look at the Electric market right now as it tanks further and further with many Electric cars selling at £5-10,000 behind their Trade Value.

[C8RKH]

8 minutes ago, Kimbers said:

if they think going all Electric will solve their issue they should really look at the Electric market right now as it tanks further and further with many Electric cars selling at £5-10,000 behind their Trade Value

Where you referring to Lotus there?

 

[TdM]

What's sad about Jag is that their product was actually really good, the XJ was a lovely thing in it's market, the first gen XF was also a lovely thing. Problem being that their market has disappeared and now there is no point to them.

What were they ACTUALLY good at? Comfy, wood and leather laden, beautiful places to waft the miles by in with a thumping engine up front that could be a hoot if the mood took you.

What do you need to be now? SUV maker with a big infotainment screen and a lot of badge cachet

Jag can't compete there because... Well Range Rover. Nobody will buy a saloon anymore and they've moved away from the smoking room interiors because there aren't enough people buying that anymore to sustain them.

Their best bet is to produce an electric GT car that can sell alongside RR products, but if it's a heavy electric car what's the point in the GT thing? The batteries can be mounted low in an electric RR, it's comfortable and really fast and it also has lots of space. Jag stand no chance I'm afraid.

[jep]

Sadly, Jaguar irrelevant now. Land and Range Rover all the vogue (pun intended). 

Jaguar nearly killed Ian Callum and Julian Thomson saw the writing on the wall.

Justin

 

[Escape]

The Jag F-pace is a very nice car. I've made my disliking of all moderns quite clear, but when I drove one to help a mate decide to buy it or not, I was a bit impressed. Good road manners, a very comfy place and not too much to annoy me. Based on the same platform as the Range Rover Sport, but more oriented towards road miles rather then off road and towing capability.

Jaguar seems to sell pretty well here still, with the XF seen as a less boring alternative to the usual Germand brands when it comes to company cars. Same for their SUVs.

As it happens, I needed to pick up some paperwork from our local JLR dealer yesterday. I made a point to show up in my XJS and park right in front of their showroom. 🙂

[jep]

Jaguar do make good cars. They just can't sell enough of them. The stablemate marques are more appealing in the market, leaving Jaguar with nowhere to go. 

Sports cars alone is unviable, saloon cars are a shrinking sector dominated by others and Jaguar has an aging customer base.

Where do Jaguar go? The design department trauma suggests they're not sure either.

Justin 

[exeterjeep]

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/exclusive-jaguar-land-rover-dealers-face-booking-multi-million-pound-losses-when-showroom-axe-falls/281150

Jaguar Land Rover dealers are facing the prospect of booking multi-million-pound impairment charges in their accounts as a result of losing their Jaguar franchises.

Shame that Helston Garage group recently sold their  4 JLR sites to Vertu....who already have around half a dozen 'up north'.

It was only a few years ago the JLR got most of their dealers to adopt the twin arch concept  - so everyone looks the same.

[jerzybondov]

4 hours ago, Escape said:

The Jag F-pace is a very nice car. I've made my disliking of all moderns quite clear, but when I drove one to help a mate decide to buy it or not, I was a bit impressed. Good road manners, a very comfy place and not too much to annoy me. Based on the same platform as the Range Rover Sport, but more oriented towards road miles rather then off road and towing capability.

Jaguar seems to sell pretty well here still, with the XF seen as a less boring alternative to the usual Germand brands when it comes to company cars. Same for their SUVs.

As it happens, I needed to pick up some paperwork from our local JLR dealer yesterday. I made a point to show up in my XJS and park right in front of their showroom. 🙂

Ooh XJS! Don’t suppose you could brighten this Jag related thread up with a pic or two?

[jonwat]

Giles Coren's Jaguar 

[Escape]

Here you go Jerry:

[Kimbers]

4 hours ago, Escape said:

The Jag F-pace is a very nice car. I've made my disliking of all moderns quite clear, but when I drove one to help a mate decide to buy it or not, I was a bit impressed. Good road manners, a very comfy place and not too much to annoy me. Based on the same platform as the Range Rover Sport, but more oriented towards road miles rather then off road and towing capability.

Jaguar seems to sell pretty well here still, with the XF seen as a less boring alternative to the usual Germand brands when it comes to company cars. Same for their SUVs.

As it happens, I needed to pick up some paperwork from our local JLR dealer yesterday. I made a point to show up in my XJS and park right in front of their showroom. 🙂

My Daughter hated her E-Pace so much she handed it back in her cool off period, for free! Said it was the worst car she had ever had. Everything from breaking down 2nd day to it only doing 20 miles electric instead of the 39 advertised. It had 3 rattles from new the dealer kept telling her were "Acceptable". I let her Drive my KIA and she said it was like the E Pace was a 20 year old car. Instantly ordered a new Sportage PHEV and bought an old banger to hold her over and she much prefers even that to the Jag. 

Oh yeah, left the best to last. E Pace was £719 a month, Sportage £452 same criterea.

[TdM]

Yes, when I had my Jag I got an E-pace an XE and a RR Evoque as courtesy cars.

The E-pace was an awful thing. The only 'good bit' being the puddle lights were interesting. felt cheap and flimsy.

The XE handled quite nicely with decent chassis feel but rattled and was badly put together

The Evoque was by far better than both. Drove nicely, was comfortable and well equipped and built. Only complaint was that it had lots of touch sensitive 'buttons' which were too easy to accidentally 'press' which really annoyed me

I would probably buy an Evoque if I was in the market for such a thing. I wouldn't buy the other two. I would have considered having another Jag but the only one that interested me by then was an F-Type (as the other cars felt decidedly down market and gutless vs my old car) and the sales people were ... not very good so that put paid to that.

[yeller77]

On 14/03/2023 at 06:53, jonwat said:

Giles Coren's Jaguar 

Good to know Jaguar are carrying on their traditions into the electric age.  

[exeterjeep]

Spoke with a sales guy at JLR Exeter today, the nearest Jag dealer by the end of 2024 will be in Bristol,  ie all the current ones in Cornwall/Devon/Somerset  (Exeter, Plymouth/Taunton/Truro)  will be service agents only - if they still are in business.

[MPx]

As you no doubt aready know Keith all of those SW JLR dealers were part of Helston Garages, and Helston sold the lot (+ BMW franchises etc) to Vertu Motors at the end of last year.  Odd that an enterprise as big as Vertu - already in the trade - would have gone to the expense of taking them on if it was just for a year or so and/or known to be so full of risk.  Wouldn't the insiders know about this sort of thing?

[exeterjeep]

I remember thinking that Helston got out just in time, but the Carr family members who inherited the business after both the 2nd generation Carrs passed away, did not want to run a car business. So it was split up. I know Hendy have a couple of JLR dealers near the south coast, wonder if either will survive. 

Exeter Ferrari were also taken over by Vertu, but so far have refused to join Vertu's IT systems etc. They don't want their Ferrari customers cold called by Vertu up north  where their central offices are.

The sales guy at Matford we have been dealing with for the last 2.5 cars is leaving next week.