Is it true that the Jaguar brand is about to become past tense? Peli.
Maybe. Maybe not. There’s certainly pressure for the marque to redefine and re-establish itself as part of the JLR (Jaguar Land-Rover) stable now owned by Tata.
Either way, it will be big news - not because its fate will rattle its owners or the wider motor industry, but because Jaguars have been an iconic global brand for the better part of a century, with a legendary reputation for prestige and performance.
The Jag image is undoubtedly “executive” and “fast”, with numerous championships in motorsport, candidacy for the most beautiful car of all time (in the E-type), the vehicle of choice of many famous stars, highly acceptable in mansion carparks, and the archetype for film directors making movies with ‘bad boy’ getaway vehicles. The S type was at one time the fastest mass-production car in the world.
Jaguar E-Paces in South Africa.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
That’s not a legacy to be taken lightly, but business is business and it is not winning many smiles in the JLR accounts department at the moment, so a decision on that reputation will have to be made: whether to mend it, bend it, or end it.
No motoring enthusiast would ever vote for the third option. Bank managers and marketing strategists might. And it neither adds to nor detracts from the fortunes of its LR stable-mate. Jaguar’s current marketing message is interpreted by pundits as a cryptic “all or nothing” strategy.
They might boom or they might bust. Either way, the outcome will echo the famous book title on mankind’s future: Shock.
