Gavin Green: where Jaguar went wrong
At the official opening of Jaguar’s new design centre in September 2019, I noted the XK120, C-Type, D-Type, E-Type and early XJ saloon on the studio floor, ‘to provide inspiration’. Yet, in the corporate car park just outside the swanky new studios lay Jaguar’s latest offerings: new E-Paces and F-Paces, new XEs and XFs.
That neatly summed up Jaguar’s decline. Despite the noble ancestry and supposed hand-me-down inspiration, Jaguar has lost its design mojo. To be frank, it’s been missing for the best part of 40 years.
Jaguars were once renowned for their modernity, their beauty, their advanced engineering architectures and their aching desirability. Yet its two biggest sellers, the E-Pace and the F-Pace, are just another couple of bulky me-too SUVs. Only two modern Jaguars can lay claim to stand-out special status: the long-bonnet F-Type, all grace and muscle and eye-catching appeal; and the i-Pace, the world’s most avant-garde electric car (at least in its design), and the best to drive.
In February, Jaguar announced its biggest restructure since the Ford takeover of 1990. Back then, Ford concentrated on increasing production, a proliferation of models and a determination to go head-to-head with BMW, Mercedes and Audi. That strategy continued under new owner Tata, which took over in 2008. It failed. The cars weren’t special enough, the investment not big enough, the competition too strong and the Jaguar brand too inconsequential outside of its home UK market.
Now, under new boss Thierry Bolloré, there is a new plan, and it’s a 180º change of tack. Instead of more models, there’ll be fewer. Instead of seeking more sales, there may be less. Instead of chasing and, in many ways, mimicking German rivals which are richer and more powerful, Jaguar will attempt to chart its own course in the luxury car market. And, true to its avant-garde roots, it will go all-electric. By 2025, all Jaguars on sale will be battery electric vehicles. It will become the first car maker to convert to 100 per cent electric power. And it’s exactly the right strategy.
The key to success is great design, as before. The man responsible for the planned renaissance is Gerry McGovern, former design boss of Land Rover. McGovern is now head of JLR design, responsible for both Land Rover and Jaguar. And he’s exactly the right man for the job.
Along with Volvo’s Thomas Ingenlath, McGovern is the world’s most outstanding car designer of the past 10 years. He effectively takes over Jaguar design responsibility from Ian Callum, who left in mid-2019. Callum is a fine designer, a Jaguar enthusiast (unlike McGovern) and his i-Pace will be the inspiration for Jaguar’s brave new future. Jaguar’s design failure is not Callum’s failure. The investment to back his ideas was never big enough, his voice not loud enough, and perhaps Callum lacks McGovern’s (and Ingenlath’s) uncompromising dogmatism. Ingenlath and McGovern don’t accept no. As McGovern told me recently: ‘I don’t do failure.’ His voice will also be heard at the highest level, on the JLR management board. It would be a brave marketing or manufacturing man to gainsay McGovern.
So what can we expect? It’s early days, of course. McGovern will probably discard almost everything he inherited and has already started, culling the proposed new XJ saloon. It was not special enough. Expect SUVs and sports cars, but all with a unique Jaguar appeal: probably lower, sleeker, sexier. And new saloons too, a breed of car enjoying a welcome renaissance thanks to the success of the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan.
Style will triumph over utility. If new Jaguars don’t turn heads, they will fail. A bespoke new Jaguar electrical architecture should give McGovern and his team an excellent platform on which to craft their magic.
Volvo is the role model. It has streamlined its range, dumped its cheaper models, massively improved design, boosted quality, and is fast winning a reputation as the clever premium car choice. Of particular appeal to Bolloré and Tata, it is also highly profitable.
Former CAR editor Gavin Green is a respected automotive commentator, and a life-long observer of Jaguar and Land Rover’s highs and lows