Under Lyons'

had better do it right! If the picture I have created reveals a ‘difficult man’ then I think I’ve got it right. He wants to achieve great things, but there are many tiny elements not working out; many pesky matters, like dealing with falling sales, a lack of attention to the ‘vision for the brands’ and lack of revenue to support investments and big changes.

Right now, there is so much to be done, and JLR doesn’t have a visionary CEO, nor the substance in the company to deliver any of the changes for survival.

So, yes, I think there’s a very big possibility that JLR (especially Jaguar) will fail - and be ripe for picking up at the right price - Tata Group simply doesn’t have the available cash to save its British baby - although my mole in China tells me Tata has knocked back an offer from China’s Geely.

Let’s look at some of the numbers which make me feel like this challenge is hopeless. In his first few months Bolloré cancelled two BIG programmes - the all-electric XJ and the J-PACE EV SUV. They were signed off and ready to go. The asset and cash write-down is said to have cost JLR £1.5 billion!

That also meant that with no new models in the pipeline, Castle Bromwich plant would close, awaiting whatever came along with the ‘Reimagine’ projects.

More numbers. JLR is still losing money, with pre-tax losses for six consecutive quarters whilst competitors were posting profits. Results for the July to September quarter (2022) reveal a £178 million loss, which adds up to a mind-blowing total for 2022 an eyewatering £697 million!

JLR says it has a backlog of 200,000 orders it cannot fulfil - but unfulfilled orders don’t pay the bills, until the customers get their cars.

Sales of Jaguar were at 17,340 units in the second quarter (2022) as against 19,248 units in the yearago period, down 9.9 per cent. Land Rover sales are doing better, thanks to the new Range Rover, and continued success of the Defender. But, JLR has not made a profit since 2018, despite bold plans to boost production to more than one million vehicles a year (more on this later) to

Image 01

1950s and it might be seen as a directory, but it was also strong publicity.

Image 02 challenge the German Big Three. The plan, introduced by Ralf Speth, would cost £25 billion - and increase vehicle production lines from seven to fourteen, boosting the workforce to more than 40,000! That expanded JLR too far, too fast - and the headcount grew exponentially. When the downturn inevitably came Jaguar had a massive overhead.

The worst thing for Jaguar would be to repeat Leyland's stupidity of badge-engineering models. A Land Rover with a Jaguar grille? Never.

Vehicle output was boosted significantly in the UK, India, Slovakia and Brazil, but the expected sales growth never materialised, plateauing at 614,309 in 2018, resulting in turnover of £25 billion, and profits of £1.5 billion. That’s the last of the ‘Good Old Days’.

What followed was a sharper downturn in sales, investment writeoffs and thousands of job losses - all of which leaves the mood within

Image 03

A stunning model - the rare XF SV8 with Jaguar's then design champions Alister Whelan and Ian Callum. In 2021 Alister joined Chinese manufacturer Nio.

Image 04

XE with electric racer - XE is not being manufactured.

JLR as extremely gloomy - albeit probably, frightening!

I suspect the Tata management, struggling to deal with the mess that Speth left behind, just lost interest in the ‘grand REIMAGINE plan’ which could explain Bolloré’s decision to leave ‘for personal reasons’. Sorry, mate. It’s not going to work! However, there appears to be another factor deeply ingrained in some of Bolloré’s thinking. Insiders tell me designer (sorry, Chief Creative Officer) Gerry McGovern spent a huge amount of time and effort attempting to ingratiate himself with Bolloré. Why?

McGovern, whose ego runs a close second to Wolfgang Reitzle, wants to ‘show’ former Jaguar Design Directors, Ian Callum and the lateGeoff Lawson, just ‘how’ a Jaguar should be designed! This ego-driven approach to product decisions by McGovern could be seen, in step with Bolloré’s, to be the pivot which may spell the end of Jaguar.

After devoting almost 20 years of my career helping to sustain the Jaguar marque, let me put forward some personal views. They may not save it, but I think they’re important to consider.

Personal Viewpoint

When Sir William Lyons started the ‘real’ Jaguar company (after the initial branding as S.S.), it competed with a couple of ultra-luxury brands - Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Given