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Jaguar demanding customer data from reluctant dealers

Nearly every major business is collecting consumer data these days, and keeping that data secure has come to the forefront of many customer's minds. Jaguar Land Rover North America's decision to begin requesting more customer info from its dealer network appears unfortunately timed, however. If it had come a few years ago, it might have been ignored, but in today's climate of heightened awareness, a few dealers are pushing back. To put the showrooms in an even tougher position, JLR NA is threatening to deny quarterly incentives if they do not turn over the customer data, according to Automotive News.
JLR NA instated the nationwide plan, which it calls Single View CRM, on February 7, but according to Stuart Schorr, Jaguar Land Rover North America Vice President of Communications, the automaker has been negotiating with its dealers to institute the new program for over a year. Schorr tells Autoblog that no financial information is being shared, noting that such data is limited to customer details, including things like what vehicles they own and whether they have any pending service. The initiative is meant to "improve customers' and owners' engagement with the brand," he said. Also, the company is not accessing dealer data itself; instead showrooms are asked to enter the info into JLR's database.

Jaguar Land Rover in talks for Southern US factory

Jaguar Land Rover is getting serious about global expansion, and that means it can't only build its vehicles in the UK anymore. The British automaker is cutting the ribbon at its new plant in China tomorrow, marking the opening of its first factory outside the UK. In 2016, it will open another factory in Brazil. But the latest intel has it that JLR is looking into a US factory, as well.
The report, which comes to us from the Sunday Times by way of Automotive News Europe, indicates that the company is evaluating locations for a North American factory, with options centering around Southern right-to-work states like South Carolina, where BMW operates its plant in Spartanburg and a wide array of other automotive operations are based as well. The JLR plant would reportedly ramp up to a capacity of 200,000 units per year.
In related news, while that new plant JLR is inaugurating in Changshu, China, is initially slated to produce the Range Rover Evoque, it is also expected to start building the new Discovery Sport as well - just like the Halewood plant in the UK that has handled Evoque assembly from the start and which just built its first Discovery Sport, as well.

This Ford F-150 might have a Land Rover turbodiesel V6

Our spy photographers just caught this Ford F-150 driving around Dearborn, wearing camouflage around the bed – not so unusual near Ford's headquarters. What's interesting with this particular mule is that it might be packing a Jaguar-Land Rover turbodiesel V6. As with the Super Duty, the F-150 prototype pictured here sports a Venturi exhaust tip popping out the side of the rear bumper behind the wheel, which – along with the sound reported by our shutterbug – suggests that it's burning oil up front. That could mean Ford has found another application for the 3.2-liter, five-cylinder Power Stroke diesel that it just federalized for the Transit van. However our sources suggest what the mule is actually powered by the 3.0-liter Lion V6 diesel that Jaguar Land Rover – once subsidiaries in Ford's Premier Automotive Group – is bringing over for the Td6 models of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The engine produces a respectable 254 horsepower and a healthy 443 pound-feet of torque, and is tipped to be mated to the same ten-speed automatic transmission as the new Raptor. That could give the F-150 the kind of fuel economy and muscle it would need to challenge the likes of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and the heavier-duty Nissan Titan with the Cummins engine. With gas prices as low as they are, however, and sales of diesel-powered vehicles lagging, Ford could just be trying to keep up with the competition by offering a light-duty diesel pickup. With its lightweight aluminum body, the diesel F-150 could even surpass the Duramax diesel-powered Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon for frugality at the pumps, according to Mark Williams of PickupTrucks.com. He told Autoblog that, "it makes perfect sense for Ford to do a diesel. It seems like everyone is pushing them to do a Ranger, but if they can get the F-150 to push 30 mpg it can challenge the Ram Ecodiesel and even the Colorado Duramax." Reached for comment, Ford spokesman Mike Levine sent us the following statement: "We do not speculate about future products. While diesel is a solution, it is not the solution. EcoBoost offers the ideal combination of performance and fuel economy that over 60 percent of F-150 customers are choosing." Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-150 Diesel: Spy Shots Image Credit: Brian Williams / SpiedBilde Green Spy Photos Ford Land Rover Truck Diesel Vehicles jaguar land rover ford f-150 diesel