Two and a half decades later jaguar After starting its journey to British BMW, the brand is about to embark on a new journey with a controversial design language and an expensive, low-volume plan.
In an interview with Top equipmentRawdon Glover, Jaguar’s managing director, said: “Jaguar didn’t work commercially” when it competed in the “volume premium sector”, which is mainly dominated by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and, to a lesser extent, Lexus and Volvo.
“So we were at a crossroads because just going on like this and saying, ‘Let’s just do what we do and sell more,’ doesn’t work,” he continued.
Mr Glover wanted to point out that for most of its history Jaguar had a small range of high-end vehicles.
This changed in the late 1990s, when Ford owned the brand, as the brand began to become Britain’s BMW, releasing smaller, cheaper models to fit under the existing XJ sedan as well as the XK coupe and XK convertible.
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First with the retro S-Type in 1999 to take on the 5 Series, and then in 2001 with the Mondeo-based X-Type to take on the 3 Series and famously become Jaguar’s first front-wheel drive model.
This was followed by the more modern XF in 2007 and the XE in 2015. Jaguar also followed the competition in the SUV sector with the E-Pace and F-Pace.
Despite two decades of effort, Jaguar failed to reach Lexus levels and challenge the Germans alone. In 2020, Jaguar sold 102,494 cars worldwide, while both BMW and Mercedes-Benz sold just over 2 million units each. Audi sold just under 1.7 million cars, while Lexus (718,715) and Volvo (661,713) were also in a league above.
According to Mr Glover, Jaguar’s average transaction price in the UK before its gradual exit from the mainstream luxury sector was around £55,000 (A$111,000).
Jaguar is targeting an average retail price of £120,000 (A$242,000) with its new range of eye-catching electric vehicles. The executive says the introductory edition of its electric GT sedan will start at £140,000 (A$283,000).
That means the new Jaguar range will sit somewhere between the mainstream luxury brands, which top out at around £130,000, and Bentley and Rolls-Royce, which typically sell for £200,000 (A$400,000) and above.
The first model of Jaguar’s new edition will be a four-door GT, the design of which is based on the Type 00 concept. Mr. Glover says the public reaction reflected what the company saw in its clinics: Some people got it, others loathed it, and another group understood it but didn’t feel it.
He continued that the design of the new models is deliberately different because the company wants to build cars “that people will talk about in 50 years” and that they will “emotionally buy” at their price.
Mr Glover also noted that the E-Type was not designed to be pretty, but to be bold and “time will tell” whether Jaguar has got it right with its new electric vehicles.
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