When Ford announced it had contracted mergers and acquisitions expert Kenneth Leet to conduct a strategic review of its Premier Automotive Group, rumors immediately broke that Ford might be planning to sell Jaguar. Later, reports even surfaced that Land Rover and Aston Martin could also be sold along with Jag. But according to the Birmingham Post, that might not happen. According to the newspaper, Ford’s Mark Fields yesterday said Ford would position Jaguar as a “niche brand” after abandoning hopes a big growth in volumes driven by the X-Type. Jaguar is in a “rebuilding phase and we are recalibrating from our very high expectations of the late 1990s”, Mr Fields reportedly said. Although he stopped short of ruling out a sale, his comments were interpreted as meaning Ford would not abandon the brand entirely.
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08/11, 10:36 AM
posted by:
1952 MG TD
I thought that PAG was all niche vehicles anyways? How is that news?
08/11, 10:38 AM
posted by:
nate
^ idiot. they said ford wanted to make jag high volume with teh x-type.
the point is fields is talking like they will keep jag, not sell it. that is news.
08/11, 10:44 AM
posted by:
1952 MG TD
^idiot: Jaguar is a luxury brand and a part of the Premiere Automotive Group. If it were not a niche vehicle, it would not be under the PAG banner.
Whether or not they tried to platform engineer a Mondeo to compete with the 3 series is irrelevant, Jag is, and has always been a niche brand.
08/11, 10:49 AM
posted by:
British_Rover
Volvo pumps out some pretty serious volume. I think they are beyond niche status now.
08/11, 10:53 AM
posted by:
1952 MG TD
rover:
Aston: niche.
LR: niche.
Jag: niche.
Volvo: Previous to Fords buyout, Volvo had a reputation of mainstream, dependable, affordable, safe transportation. Under the PAG banner, Volvo HAS moved upscale a notch or two.
Does Volvo elicit the same aura of luxury or speed that is commonly associated with Jaguar or Aston Martin? nope.
08/11, 11:13 AM
posted by:
nate
^ idiot. regardless of whether ford is a niche brand, that’s not what this story is about. it’s about how ford might not sell the brand. If you you think mark feilds is wrong for sayin it’s gonna be a niche brand, then go complain to him
08/11, 11:19 AM
posted by:
1952 MG TD
^idiot. Ford is not a niche brand, Jag is.
Ford realizes that Jag has done nothing but cost them $$$ and there is no end in sight. The aluminum technologies gained are not cost effective to spread to other mainstream models.
They would be stupid not to fish for offers.
08/11, 11:54 AM
posted by:
Madonna
I bet Peugeot-Citroen, Hyundai or Tata might want Jaguar, maybe Proton would want it to go alongside Lotus?
08/11, 12:10 PM
posted by:
Jay
The only reason why Ford bought Jaguar was because it would reduce competition (that’s just my opinion), even though it benefits GM with it’s luxury brands more than Ford with Lincoln which is in the dumps right now.
This is not an article about niche status, but I might as well get into Volvo.
Volvo was one of the smartest moves for FMC. Some think they bought it for too much, I say they bought it for too little. Volvos niche is still safety and is a semi-luxury market brand. Also currently they are the leaders for Ford finding alternatives to our gasoline craze, with over 1 billion invested in it. So you could say Volvos current niche is safety, luxury and clean energy
Land Rover: Aimed at a luxury off road market, SUV segment
Jaguar: Luxury high performance.
Aston Martin: Luxury high performance, like Jaguar but somewhat of a halo brand of the PAG auto group
08/11, 12:23 PM
posted by:
stuart
They should have sold it
08/11, 1:16 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
Cereal tastes better with Milk
08/11, 1:17 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
^Idiot. Unless it’s Lucky Charms.
08/11, 1:24 PM
posted by:
Anonymous
They’re standing around – drinking Gin on the Titanic….
j i m
08/11, 1:32 PM
posted by:
Q
It doesn’t make sense for Ford to hold on to Jaguar since they are not in a position to capitlize on the rationalization processes that they executed at Jaguar by supporting a new series of models. So selling to someone who can support new model launches and holding on to a (minority) stake is the right thing to do for Ford. I would be stunned if that doesn’t happen.
08/11, 2:08 PM
posted by:
hal
Hard to see that Ford has a coherent and profitable strategy for any of its car brands other then Volvo.
Coming next: The Crown Vic VanDenPlas.
The perfect marriage of 1970s and 1980s technology.
08/11, 2:13 PM
posted by:
1952 MG TD
What is amazing, hal, is the rear end on the mid 80’s XJ. I would LOVE for any car to mimic that setup…albeit updated.
08/12, 6:21 AM
posted by:
Carnut4ever
Jaguar desperately needs new products to push right now. And those products better not be a carbon copy of the past models.