LONDON — Jaguar has recorded its lowest quarterly gross sales since 2013 as guardian Jaguar Land Rover targeted scarce microchips on the extra worthwhile Land Rover model.
Jaguar’s international automobile gross sales within the quarter ending Dec 31. fell 49 % to 14,407, the bottom three-month complete for the reason that final quarter of 2013. Jaguar and Land Rover operations have been merged right into a single firm in 2013 by Tata Motors, which purchased the manufacturers from Ford Motors in 2008.
The most recent quarterly gross sales cut back the model’s quantity to the low degree it had earlier than it expanded from promoting sporty automobiles to including SUVs and crossovers, in addition to the present XE and XF sedans.
The consequence was additionally under that of the second quarter in 2020, when most international locations have been within the grip of the primary lockdown to stop the unfold of COVID-19.
“We goal them to the correct automotive,” chief monetary officer Adrian Mardell informed traders on a name in November, with out mentioning which automobiles.
Regardless of getting precedence for microchips gross sales of Land Rover (together with Vary Rover fashions) additionally fell throughout the Oct.-Dec. quarter. Gross sales have been down 35 % to 65,719.
Jaguar suffered towards the tip of the yr as JLR prioritized restricted semiconductors for its hot-selling Land Rover fashions, together with the brand new Defender.
Gross sales of each Jaguar and Land Rover manufacturers dropped by 38 % to 80,216 within the quarter, in accordance with an organization assertion.
For the entire of 2021, Jaguar Land Rover gross sales fell 1.2 % to 420,856. Jaguar’s full yr gross sales have been down16 % to 86,270, however the model significantly suffered within the remaining quarter of the yr, which accounted for simply 17 % of the model’s gross sales for the yr. Land Rover’s full-year gross sales rose 3.4 % to 334,586.
Jaguar gross sales in European Union, UK and EFTA markets in 2021 fell 19 % to 38,039, in accordance with information from trade group ACEA.
Gross sales of the XE and XF have been fashions principally constructed and offered in China, suggesting JLR has paused manufacturing of the 2 sedans at its Fortress Bromwich plant in England.
Jaguar is not going to exchange its getting older vary of inside combustion engine automobiles till it launches new full-electric fashions in 2025, Le Monde newspaper reported.
Jaguar is pivoting to an all-electric model with new fashions to be designed by JLR head of design Gerry McGovern in a transfer that may also see it go a lot additional upmarket than present fashions.
McGovern mentioned future Jaguar designs must be “completely fashionable and up to date.”
The model may use an electrical platform from exterior the corporate, CEO Thierry Bollore mentioned final yr.
Beneath Bollore, the corporate has fully rethought the technique for Jaguar and Land Rover devised below earlier CEO Ralf Speth that chased gross sales of 1 million via growth of each manufacturers.
The brand new technique focuses on greater finish, decrease quantity fashions.
“Taking up BMW, Daimler or Audi is not sensible for an organization that may be a quarter of its dimension,” JLR Chief Monetary Officer Adrian Mardell mentioned throughout an investor day presentation held final February.
Sellers nevertheless are frightened that the dearth of recent Jaguar fashions within the pipeline for the near-term makes planning tough.
“It is fairly violent and, if we aren’t sponsored by the producer, we is not going to succeed,” Philippe Dugardin, president of the Jaguar and Land Rover dealership group in France, informed Le Monde.
The top of JLR France, Philippe Robbrecht, reassured sellers that Jaguar’s reinvention was heading in the right direction. “2025 is barely three years away,” he informed the newspaper.