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Jaguar Land Rover might buy another luxury brand that it doesn't need

It seems that Jaguar Land Rover may be getting bigger in the near future. According to Bloomberg, the company is looking at acquiring some tech companies, and possibly yet another luxury car brand, provided that it fits with the current lineup of cars. On the surface, this makes some sense since Bloomberg reports that a whopping 78 percent of Tata Motors' revenue comes from luxury brands. And of course, any kind of tech acquisition could be useful considering the rapid development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But dig a little deeper, and a possible luxury brand acquisition just doesn't make sense for Jaguar Land Rover. The main reason for this is that the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have the luxury market thoroughly covered. Both brands offer full luxury lines from entry-level to high-end ( Discovery Sport to Range Rover on the Land Rover side, and XE to XJ on the Jaguar side). They also cater to every kind of luxury, from sporty vehicles such as the F-Type and SVR Land Rovers, to cushy luxury machines such as the XJ and Range Rover. So whether the company is competing with BMW or Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rover have the bases covered. There aren't any other typical luxury brands that would actually add anything to the current lineup. In fact, adding another conventional luxury brand could actually result in the new brand poaching existing Jaguar and Land Rover buyers, rather than picking up new ones. What would make more sense for Jaguar Land Rover would be to pick up either a more mainstream brand, or an ultra-luxury marque. Neither Jaguar nor Land Rover has something that competes directly with the likes of Ford or Toyota in the mainstream game, or Rolls-Royce or Bentley at the top of the luxury heap. Picking up a brand in one of these segments would allow JLR and Tata Motors to actually expand offerings and pick up more sales, rather than having an internal competitor. What path would be ideal? Probably going even farther upmarket. Supercar makers and ultra-luxury brands continue to sell well, and there's the potential for significant profit by layering on features and content to existing platforms. Perhaps the best possibility for a high-end complement to Jaguar Land Rover would be Aston Martin. Not only does it have a strong reputation and line-up, it also could handle both supercars and luxury sedans, thanks to its Lagonda sub brand. Of course it would require Aston Martin to be receptive to a purchase.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut output and jobs due to Brexit, diesel slump

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will cut around 1,000 jobs and production at two of its English factories due to a fall in sales caused by uncertainty around Brexit and confusion over diesel policy, a source told Reuters. Output will be cut at its central English Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants, affecting some 1,000 agency workers, the source said. A spokesman at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) declined to comment on the number of jobs which would be lost but the firm said it would be making changes to its output plans. "In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff," the company said in a statement. It is not renewing the contracts of a number of agency staff at the Solihull site and would be informing staff on Monday of its plans for the 2018-19 financial year. In January, the firm said it would temporarily reduce production at its other British plant of Halewood later this year in response to weakening demand due to Brexit and tax hikes on diesel cars but did not detail any job losses. Jaguar sales are down 26 percent so far this year whilst Land Rover demand dropped 20 percent in its home market as buyers shun diesel, concerned over planned tax rises and possible bans and restrictions in several countries. "It's been obvious to everyone that sales have been dropping," the source said. British new car registrations have been falling for a year which the car industry body has partly blamed on weakening consumer confidence in the wake of the Brexit vote, after record demand in 2015 and 2016. Reporting by Costas Pitas. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover Diesel Vehicles Luxury sales jaguar land rover jobs brexit

Jaguar Land Rover posts profitable quarter amidst big yearly losses

Jaguar has posted its first profit in quite some time, as the financial quarter ending on March 31 brought in a net income of $151.6 million. However, that is the light in the end of the tunnel, as full year results through March showed a $4.58 billion loss (GBP3.6 billion). The losses are again attributable to declining sales in China, with a whiff of the still-lingering Brexit process. While JLR's annual U.S. sales were up 8.1 percent, and U.K. sales improved by 8.4%, overall sales came down 5.8% to 578,915 vehicles. For April, Chinese sales nearly halved as they dropped by 46 percent. Earlier this year, JLR's woes caused its owner Tata Motors to post the biggest ever quarterly loss in Indian corporate history, at nearly $4 billion. JLR's CEO Ralf Speth stated that the company is "reducing complexity" and transforming its business by cost savings and cash flow improvements, citing the fourth-quarter profits as an example of the ongoing turnaround. Speth said JLR has already managed to deliver $1.59 billion (GBP1.25 billion) of efficiencies and savings. JLR says its turnaround program, dubbed Charge, will drive it to at least $3.18 billion (GBP2.5 billion) of investment, working capital and profit improvements by March 2020, and that it currently has $4.84 billion (GBP3.8 billion) of cash. Speth continued that JLR will "go forward as a transformed company that's leaner and fitter," and that the sustained investment in new products and technologies will drive future demand. There has been earlier speculation of Tata Motors selling JLR to the PSA Group, but as Autocar reports, Tata's financial chief again refuted these rumors. JLR also announced today that its CFO of 11 years, Ken Gregor is stepping down after 22 years with the company, and that he will be succeeded by JLR's Chief Transformation Officer, Adrian Mardell.