Saturday, January 21, 2023

2023 Is Jaguar's Final Chance To Save Themselves

-------------------------------------------------thought for the day if I'm a YouTuber

does that make you a YouTube e answers

on a postcard or even better in the

comments section down below anyway hello

everybody I'm James and I love a Jag it

may have taken me quite some time to

realize that fact and indeed there's a

lot I feel quite bad about for example

20 odd years ago I talked my dad out of

buying a Jaguar XJ specifically an x308

XJR a car that I'm now considering

buying myself I love Jaguar's

combination of classic British looks

amazing power waftiness with the

occasional bit of sportiness when

required but I think Jaguar may be in

serious trouble like a much-loved uncle

that you haven't heard from in quite a

while I'm beginning to worry as to how

healthy Jaguar actually are so in

today's video I'm going to talk you

through what's been happening to the

firm and from my idiot with a little bit

of knowledge perspective why I think the

problem really is a pretty big one and

maybe unsolvable

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okay then on to the topic at hand and

I'm going to begin by taking a look at

the current Jaguar lineup because I

really think that shows you how big the

issue is what have we got well there's

the F-type a fabulous car that really

was much needed and injected a bit of

drama and animation into the Jaguar

brand when it launched however that was

a long time ago during its run the model

didn't really change all that much and

now possibly overdue it is finally being

retired but with no replacement in sight

Jaguar will very soon be without a

sports car of any description and to

many you say the word Jag they will

instantly think of something like an

E-Type so for the firm not to have a

sports car at all I think is a travesty

next up we have the XF one of the

prettiest Saloon cars on sale today but

it's also been on sale for far too long

some eight years now in its current guys

and it's lacking a lot of the things

that the traditional Jaguar customer

would want in other words decent engines

the meatiest version you could get was a

E6 diesel you haven't been able to buy a

V8 engine Jaguar Saloon for several

years since the demise of the old

Flagship XJ back in 2019 I drove the XF

and I have to say it's one of the

biggest disappointments I've ever

experienced the old first generation car

had a lot of charm about it but the new

one really was a little bit cold and far

too harsh to drive and I just did not

gel with it regardless at eight years

old it's really due a replacement and as

far as I'm aware there is none in sight

next up you have the XC the baby in the

lineup again a car with some qualities

it's a fabulous thing to Chuck around a

Bend but overall it's a little bit harsh

somewhat unrefined for a jaguar and the

choice of engines is even worse the top

of the line p300 car has a two liter

turbocharged four and that just isn't an

engine fit for a top of the line Jaguar

you need a six cylinder petrol at the

absolute minimum The Firm have one but

they never put it in the XC or or the XF

this is another card now eight years old

and with no replacement whatsoever do

then we have a trio of SUVs almost

certainly the company's most popular

products today we have the confusingly

named e-pace f-pace and i-pace the

e-pace is the smallest the little

crossover the f-pace quite a bit bigger

and then you have the i-pace which is

the electric one the e-pace really is a

bit of an odd duck it's a fairly small

car to me a little bit too small to be

useful a few people did buy one but in

all honesty I'm not quite sure why

unless you're desperate to have a Jag

you can get a lot more for the money

from just about anywhere else and

frankly people in that kind of Market

segment don't tend to care about badges

as much as those paying a little bit

more the f-pace is a decent thing

particularly in fire breathing f-pace

svr guys but it also has the distinction

of being one of the few test cars I've

ever had to break down on me and require

a call out from the AAA that was caused

by unidentified electrical issues and I

actually really do quite like the f-pace

and in the entire Jaguar lineup it's one

of the better cars it also has a lot of

competition then you come on to the

i-pace the only all-electric vehicle

Jaguar currently sell which by all

accounts is very good I've never

experienced it I have tried I have

failed but everyone tells me it's pretty

good unfortunately in the time that it's

been on sale Jaguar haven't really done

all that much and when it comes to

electric cars the pace of progress is

terrifying as it happens Jaguar just

announced some updates to the i-pace but

what they amount to is some different

bumpers and a few bits of altered trim

that's it all of the mechanical

specifications remain exactly the same

battery is the same Motors the same

nothing has changed the peak charging

capacity of this car is 100 kilowatts

and in today's world well that's just

out of date everything can do 150 if not

350 when it comes to the premium segment

Jaguar are falling behind the times very

quickly to be perfectly honest if it

weren't for the fact that they were

nailed to the side of Land Rover I think

they would have gone years ago and

happily the new Range Rover itself plus

the defender have apparently been doing

very very well which no that keeps the

company going for a little bit longer

Land Rover really have found themselves

in an amazing position if by accident

and not designed because their entire

lineup consists of SUVs highly popular

ones that are generally well regarded

particularly here in Britain they've got

something to suit most budgets and even

wild stuff that never ever should have

done well like the evoke convertible

appears to sell Land Rover and the Range

Rover sub brand has real curb appeal and

I've no doubt that whatever happens to

Jaguar someone will always be interested

in Land Rover that brand is here to stay

and it's certainly here to make some

money poor old Jaguar are now stuck with

a lineup that has no sports car in it no

Flagship Halo Supercar to try and

attract interest to the brand even if

it's somewhat superficial and I suspect

all the cars they have that actually

sell in other words the four by fours

certainly the e-paced at f-pace are

essentially re-engineered versions of

Land Rover and Range Rover products and

if I were sat there at a jlr board

meeting I'd be thinking well we're

spending a lot of time and effort to

make these cars when we could just sell

more land and Range Rovers anyway

without any extra effort why are we

supporting this entire brand the fact is

Jaguar made its name in Saloon cars and

saloon cars as a whole have been dying

for a very long time this has been the

case now for really close to 20 years

but when it comes to cars for the masses

Jaguar have always been a little bit

behind the times even when they've tried

so with the S-Type and then X-Type they

haven't really quite understood the

brief the X-Type was supposed to be a

affordable Jaguar the most affordable

Jaguar there had ever been yet when it

launched it was available only with a

petrol V6 and all-wheel drive at a time

when the market was buying two-wheel

drive diesels with small engines by the

bucket load they just don't understand

how to make a car that appeals to the

masses in Truth for most of the

company's life I don't think that's been

a problem they have been very content to

carry on making cars that appeal to

their traditional customers let's face

it old men who want to buy a nice big

powerful Saloon to smoke about him quite

literally in many cases I'm sure however

that now is very old hat and even for

those customers who still exist they're

probably quite happy driving around in

their old Jags and the New Breed I don't

think really ever appealed to them stuff

like the XC I wouldn't want one of those

the new XF I wouldn't want one of those

the new XJ certainly did appeal I tried

to buy one it didn't work very well and

though the looks changed quite a bit it

still had enough jaguar-ness in it I

think to keep the brand going but that

car got canned into 2019 was then due to

be replaced with an all-electric version

that I think was a very exciting idea

because here was a chance for Jaguar

once again to be a market leader to do

something highly Innovative because one

market that does buy Saloon still is the

Americans they love them and they've

also been moving over to Electric at a

rate that I think would surprise some

people I've just come back from

California and Teslas are everywhere

there whatever reason they have for it I

really don't care but the fact is

they're buying them Jaguar had an

excellent opportunity here to be one of

the first people to Market with a luxury

Saloon EV and these things certainly can

sell just look at how well the Porsche

taikan has done I don't know if the

success is going to continue over the

next few years but the fact is it can

happen and what confused me the most

about this whole thing is the fact that

in the same year that Jaguar said the

electric XJ is no longer going to happen

they also said by 2025 so in Just 2

years time the Jaguar lineup is going to

be all electric right now in January

2023 The Firm has one electric car the

i-pace that now is somewhat behind the

times what on Earth are Jaguar going to

do what is the next step this is two

years time guys this is not long at all

you should be announcing stuff this year

that's going into production next year

if not end of this year and people

should already be getting really excited

about the next Jag what's in your future

guys what's coming is there an electric

F-Type is it an electric f-pace what's

going on are you going to do a new

electric XJ but you're not really going

to call it an XJ tell us we need to know

we need to know what the future holds

but I'm not really seeing anything out

of them the motoring press has shown

many reports that the firm is working on

an all-new bespoke EV platform codename

Pantera which will underpin the next

generation of both jaguar and Land Rover

products however we've also seen the

recent departure of Jaguar CEO after a

reasonably short tenure and if I've

learned anything when that happens it

means that all bets are off until an

official press release is made

announcing a new model and confirming

production there is no guarantee of

anything I do hope there is a plan but

from outside looking in I can't help but

get sense of an air of chaos now I

totally understand Jaguar getting away

from the saloon car like I say this is a

market segment that's been getting

smaller for a long time now however it's

chiefly been replaced by two things on

the one hand hatchbacks of many

different varieties and neither jaguar

or Land Rover have any experience

whatsoever in that market segment

secondly luxury SUVs for the customers

that bought more high-end stuff that's

where they've gone now here is where

Land Rover do have a lot of experience

in fact in terms of desirability they're

probably one of the best brands in the

world it wasn't really into till the

launch of the KN back in 2003 that I

would say there was a real credible

alternative for the Range Rover that did

the luxury and off-road thing equally as

well and the problem there is that okay

maybe for jlr as a whole this is not an

issue because you have Land Rover but

that leaves the Jaguar side of the

business with very very little to do

after all how do you then treat the

brand does it simply become a re-badging

exercise is Jaguar just a performance

subdivision of Land Rover but that

itself wouldn't make any sense because

Range Rover are very happy to make

sporty versions of their own cars as it

is and they sell very well they can

charge a premium for them I don't think

they could charge any more for sticking

a Jaguar badge on the thing and now we

come on to what I think is the biggest

problem the one that I'm not convinced

Jaguar can actually get past they've

spent an awful long time trying to hold

on to their old customer base but

actually have slowly been alienating

them the sort of person that wanted to

buy an old school XJ J by what you mean

a 1990s or early 2000s one was already

probably somewhat uninterested in the

last generation XJ Jaguars product on

the whole have been getting faster lower

stiffer more uncomfortable more Tech

focused in the last few years and that

really isn't the sort of thing that

interests an older buyer on the whole

however the Jaguar brand is still very

much associated with that type of

customer which means for your younger

buyer the new person buying cars of whom

there are less and less every year the

Jaguar brand holds little to no appeal

the fact is Land Rover and more

importantly Range Rover is an

aspirational brand thanks to social

media and celebrity culture in general

Range Rovers are still a thing people

grow up wanting people that are not at

all into cars want a Range Rover because

of what it stands for most disturbingly

and this is the bit that may get me into

some trouble jlr really do not know how

to engage with New Media I have work

with jlr press Department a number of

times and they're lovely people but on

the whole the feedback I've had from my

fellow YouTubers is that they are one of

the more difficult companies to work

with and this is from people that love

the brand love what it stands for love

the products but the company just

doesn't seem to understand the value of

New Media they're still stuck in a 1980s

mindset they don't get it they don't

know how to try and appeal to a new

audience and I really truly hope that

somewhere at Jaguar someone is writing

down a list of all the YouTubers tick

tockers instagrammers and whatever else

is going to come next us that will be

helping them promote the next product

because they really are going to need

all the help that they can get and I

really do hope that Jaguar's next

products are going to be a genuine

Jaguar they're going to stand out

they're going to be different from

whatever it is that Land Rover are

building because if it isn't well to be

honest I think everyone's going to look

at it and go so

oh the new Jag it's just a discovery

with some bells on it an extra 10 grand

on the price tag

don't think I'll bother because they'll

know you're going to get the same poor

service and customer service really is

an issue for jlr as a whole the same

performance unless they do something a

little bit different you're just going

to pay more for it and if there's

anything I can say about your customer

today it's they're getting very very

careful about how they spend their money

so trying to charge extra for a badge

isn't going to work anymore now this is

not to say that things are a foregone

conclusion for Jaguar I still think

there is time but there's not a lot of

it what I'd love to see from them next

actually would be a replacement for the

F-type because that in the entire

portfolio is the car I think that's the

most Jag they've already said they're

not going to build a new all-electric XJ

fine that was one of your flagships the

F-type is the other and I think that

should see a replacement because that's

an exciting car that's an interesting

car that will also have some healthy

competition from the all-new electric

Cayman and Boxster and I really would

like to see Britain have an alternative

to classic German sports car but I do

worry that Jaguar are going to do the

Fairly predictable thing they'll look at

F-Type sales which no doubt have been

dwindling for a long time on account of

the fact that the model didn't change so

if you wanted one you bought it about

eight years ago and they'll say yeah no

there's no interest in sports cars

anymore well it's about more than that

it's about brand building you need to

get the excitement back around Jaguar

the F-type did it once so the new F-Type

or G type I suppose you could call it

Merck might have a problem with that

would be a cool thing to have then

follow up with a series of badge

engineered let's be honest Land Rover

Range Rover sort of spin-offs that I

think is fine I would like to see a

saloon stay in the lineup a hatchback

will be very exciting an electric XF

would be very exciting but you need

something that really is the Crux of

this video you need to do something

Jaguar because all I've seen thus far

for the last year is the things that

you're not doing a few months ago they

teased an exciting new announcement that

a few people thought was going to be the

project nine the successor to the crazy

no roof project 7 F-Type derived car and

the mighty Project 8 the XC with the V8

up the front all stripped out and track

focused

yet instead what we got was an f-pace

with some purple paint a throwback to an

old 1980s race car that we all know and

love

but has just about nothing to do with an

f-pace I just

I don't get it I really really don't if

I were Jaguar I'd currently been trying

to stuff that Big 5 liter V8 into

absolutely everything that I have that I

can fit it in and shift as many as I can

while I can foster some Goodwill while I

work on the electric stuff give us

something to really be excited about

tell us you've still got interest in

making stuff that appeals to petrol

heads and hopefully a lot of us will

then give you a chance when you move

over to Electric but as it stands all I

see is a brand that doesn't really get

its current customers and has absolutely

no idea how to get new ones

good luck Jag you're gonna need it and I

promise all of you watching that I think

by the end of this year we're gonna know

whether Jaguar Will Survive or not

they've set the deadline they've said

2025 entire lineup all electric

let's see what happens your predictions

let me know because mine

I don't know doesn't look so good but I

hope I really hope I'm massively wrong

because I don't want Jack to go anywhere

I've only just started realizing how

good they are I'd be sad if they went

now

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thank you

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[Applause]

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