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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.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Jaguar reportedly prepping fully electric F-Pace

Tesla might want to take a look over its shoulder because there could be a cat catching its Model X in a few years. Jaguar reportedly has a fully electric vehicle under development that is possibly based on the upcoming F-Pace crossover, and it could be on sale in Europe as soon as 2018. Autocar cites anonymous "well-placed industry sources" as the foundation for the rumor and believes that Jag's future CUV would be the most likely recipient of the new powertrain. The battery electric technology would reportedly be shared with the brand's partners at Land Rover to keep costs down, and a range of around 300 miles would be the target. The F-Pace is reportedly already being prepped with a number of drivetrain options. JLR's latest 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and supercharged 3.0-liter V6 are likely choices. However, a hybrid version is rumored, as well. JLR has been taking baby steps towards electrification for quite some time. Perhaps the biggest example was the introduction of the Range Rover Hybrid, but Land Rover has also been rumored to have an EV version of its flagship SUV under development too. The company already tested several electric Defenders, as well. From Jaguar's camp, the automaker recently trademarked the EV-Type name in the US and Europe, and its C-X75 concept had a very interesting hybrid system. The reason for all of this EV development from the Brit brands is to adhere to constricting emissions rules around the world, according to Autocar. The EU is moving to real world testing possibly as soon as 2017, and US regulators continue to work towards cleaning up the cars here, too. News Source: Autocar Green Jaguar Land Rover Emissions Crossover Electric Luxury jaguar land rover jaguar f-pace jlr