twintornados Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 https://www.autoblog.com/2019/01/30/land-rover-range-rover-sv-coupe-cancelled/ Quote JLR has just begun a program of cost-cutting and layoffs to find £2.5 billion in savings, at the same time as it deals with challenging sales in general, and cratering sales in China, a very important market to the brand. Land Rover sales fell 33 percent in China in 2018, compared to 2017. Cue rperez817 in 5...4...3...2... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 22 minutes ago, twintornados said: https://www.autoblog.com/2019/01/30/land-rover-range-rover-sv-coupe-cancelled/ Cue rperez817 in 5...4...3...2... The line will go something along the lines of "I commend them for taking the necessary action to reel in costs and focus on future product that will make more profit. This was the plan all along to re-evaluate programs." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 3 minutes ago, rmc523 said: The line will go something along the lines of "I commend them for taking the necessary action to reel in costs and focus on future product that will make more profit. This was the plan all along to re-evaluate programs." You forgot 'sir' in there somewhere. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 13 minutes ago, twintornados said: Cue rperez817 in 5...4...3...2... Thank you sir. Certainly, there's no guarantee that the amazing success that JLR achieved in the first 10 years of being free from Ford will be repeated over the next 10 years. JLR must navigate both cyclical and structural changes in the automotive industry in the coming years. I think JLR and its parent company Tata Motors can deal with those kinds of challenges. They've done it before. Consider JLR's situation right after the purchase by Tata, and after years of mismanagement by Ford. From Automotive News May 28, 2018. JLR's first 18 months under Tata were difficult. Ford had a nearly complete business plan in place for Jaguar and Land Rover when the brands were sold. Several key new products, such as the Jaguar XJ, were funded and near launch. But the recession had not only choked off car sales, but also JLR's access to credit. Under Tata, JLR was for the first time responsible for its own money — and the new company needed plenty of it. JLR's prospects looked bleak when it couldn't negotiate a suitable deal for access to credit. JLR posted a loss of about $540 million in its 2008-09 fiscal year, forcing Tata to inject $1.2 billion more into JLR to keep the company on course to fulfilling Chairman Ratan Tata's promise to continue implementing the business plan Ford had developed." "It was really a tough time, the most difficult recession in human memory," JLR CEO Ralf Speth told Automotive News in March. "When we started to develop our [product] strategy, Ratan Tata said, 'Keep on this path,' and he gave us the resources to do it." "I don't think Ford would have spent the money to do the F-Type and the subsequent SUVs," said Al Kammerer, JLR's product development chief under Ford. "And that's basically what the issue was. Ford only had so much capital investment and too many mouths to feed. Tata was a believer, and they put the money in to generate the products to fill up the cycle plan." In late 2009, business took an upward turn. The company reported a $72 million pretax profit for the fiscal year ending in March 2010. Since then, there has not been a year when operating profits have been less than about $1.4 billion. If JLR can address issues with structural costs (as they are starting to do with their cost cutting programs and layoffs) and at the same time preserve the fast decision-making, great design, and a "hands-off", good stewardship approach with a lot of faith in JLR's leadership from the parent company Tata Motors that JLR has now, they should do fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) As a drummer, my first ever endorsement contract was with the fabled Premier Percussion of Leicester, England. They were a type of "proud to be British made" business that boomed in the '60s and '70s, modernized in the '90s, and went tits up in the early 2000's. A few bankruptcies, a couple new owners, and an abandonment of the historical hallmarks that made them great (completely UK-produced, hand crafted, best chrome work anywhere) lead them to where they are now... a tiny UK office that imports Asian-assembled swill like every other major manufacturer. Point being: The things that made them great were the exact things that made them a terrible business case. JLR has loads of panache, a storied history, but a million niggling questions that hinder widespread acceptance and growth. I *want* to see them do well, just like I'd like to see Premier rise from the ashes and move towards their northstar. I'm just not holding my breath. -PREMiERdrum, who went into endorsement contract with Mapex/Majestic in 2014, and who still owns an incredible 1997 PREMiER 75th Anniversary special edition kit. Edited January 30, 2019 by PREMiERdrum 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 16 minutes ago, rperez817 said: Thank you sir. Certainly, there's no guarantee that the amazing success that JLR achieved in the first 10 years of being free from Ford will be repeated over the next 10 years. JLR must navigate both cyclical and structural changes in the automotive industry in the coming years. I think JLR and its parent company Tata Motors can deal with those kinds of challenges. They've done it before. Consider JLR's situation right after the purchase by Tata, and after years of mismanagement by Ford. From Automotive News May 28, 2018. In other words, Ford laid out the plan, they just needed money. 35 minutes ago, fordmantpw said: You forgot 'sir' in there somewhere. Haha, you're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, rmc523 said: In other words, Ford laid out the plan, they just needed money. You missed the most important part of all. In addition to money, JLR needed someone to properly execute the plan. Tata Motors, providing a "hands off" approach to JLR managers, did just that. Edited January 30, 2019 by rperez817 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurgeh Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) It has been a tough year for JLR, and 2019 could be just as challenging. A number of unforeseen developments hit the carmaker at once. One was the rapid decline in demand for sedans, the bread and butter of the "J" part of JLR. Jaguar, fortunately, began bringing in crossovers, most notably the highly-regarded F-Pace, the smaller E-Pace and, in just the last few months, the new all-electric I-Pace. Folks at JLR got so worried about the future of Jaguar that there was lots of chatter late last year about rapidly switching the make to only producing all-electric vehicles. The problem with the better-selling Land Rover make has to do with diesel, long LR's bread-and-butter engine, rapidly losing favor in the EU due in part to the VW/Audi dieselgate fiasco but mainly due to EU regulators imposing stringent new regulations on diesel vehicles amidst talk about soon banning the engine altogether. The 2019 challenge will be a continuation of the 2018 ones along with the uncertainty over Brexit. Edited January 30, 2019 by Gurgeh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 This s the first time JLR has faced a down turn in the past ten years, the icy chill of falling Chinese sales has put the cat among the pigeons... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 17 hours ago, rperez817 said: Thank you sir. Certainly, there's no guarantee that the amazing success that JLR achieved in the first 10 years of being free from Ford will be repeated over the next 10 years. JLR must navigate both cyclical and structural changes in the automotive industry in the coming years. I think JLR and its parent company Tata Motors can deal with those kinds of challenges. They've done it before. Consider JLR's situation right after the purchase by Tata, and after years of mismanagement by Ford. From Automotive News May 28, 2018. That is an awful long winded way of just saying, "It's all Ford's fault.".....my next guess would be that Tata will off load Jaguar to any willing Chinese firm and retain Land Rover going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailhiker Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 In my opinion, Jaguar should have stayed a low volume sports luxury car company. Even before Ford bought them, they had already lost their way. Ford may have failed to make them profitable, and went the wrong way with some models, but they did keep the Jaguar name in the public awareness. Without Ford, I do not think Jaguar would be around today. Tata did some nice things, but instead of targeting BMW, they should have targeted Porsche. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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