Jaguar XKR: company saviour?
Could Jaguar be sold off by troubled owner Ford?
According to one report, Ford has appointed a Wall Street investment banker, Goldman Sachs (GS) mergers and acquisitions investment banker Kenneth Leet, to review its worst-performing brands -- of which Jaguar is one. The banker will report directly to company boss Bill Ford Jnr.
While Ford has always denied that it has plans to sell Jaguar -- which is causing difficulties as the iconic carmaker continues to haemorrhage cash -- it would be foolish if it didn't look into the possibilities of selling loss-making assets. According to Business Week: "Ford is facing the reality that its market share and profit outlook is falling much faster than it can possibly bring new products to market."
Recent history suggests that Ford is not shy of taking action where necessary. It closed Jaguar's Browns Lane plant in Coventry -- which it called home for half the 20th century -- in 2004 following a loss by Jaguar of £430 million. Jaguar has taken a financial bath after low sales of the X-Type and S-Type -- Jaguar's two remaining plants made just 90,000 units in 2005 although they were geared for 200,000. However, Jaguar may have won a reprieve following healthy sales of the XK.
That said, some argue that Jaguar may even be better off as an independent, making low-volume, specialist cars for the wealthy. There's more detailed analysis in the BusinessWeek article -- see link below.