Thierry Bollore Departs Jaguar

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I am surprised it has taken so long for his “Reimagine” program to be recognised for the failure that it is…..

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business-corpor...

Edited by RingSpanner on Tuesday 22 November 07:51

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With hindsight, relying on a government statement ( ie in this case the transition to electric power ) across the board at one fixed time point has perhaps been more devastating than the earlier reliance on diesel power.

Given the disagreements at Cop27 recently, plus world events which no one really could foretell, and the Asian Equation - it is going to be a really brave leadership team to set any strategy in stone, from an automotive perspective, from this point henceforth.

Jaguar’s error has been the EV and SUV focus. Why create and develop products that are in direct competition with sister group LR?

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craigjm said:

How do you know it’s a failure? Are you on the board and know what the next step is or are you assuming a resignation means a failure? If so then that’s a rather large assumption to make. People leave jobs for lots of reasons…. Were you declared a failure last time you resigned from a job?

I’ll not be drawn to answering or debating the personal references you make, for obvious reasons.

If you’ve missed it and with due respect, the Reimagine project is morphing Jaguar into a one trick pony. Someone has spotted that.

I sincerely hope they can come back alive and kicking (if you’re misreading the intent of my posts) but from where I’m standing (and a lot of others, too…) there’s a leadership team that, so far, have only got spades to dig their hole deeper and darker.

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Simpo Two said:

It's surprising that a government with a lifespan perhaps no longer than the next election can just pluck a number out of the air - 2030 or 2050 - and suddenly everybody is falling over themselves to meet it (at a cost of tens of billions). The next government could change it...

Nail. Head. Hit.
That is exactly where the Re-imagine Project has stumbled, unfortunately.

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craigjm said:

Why? Name me one major manufacturer that is not moving to 100% electric with its next product cycle? Why would you do anything other than that and face not being able to sell your cars in all the major markets?

If the legislation around the world gets changed to anything other than full electric it will wrong foot every major manufacturer

Apart from Tesla - name me one manufacturer that will be wholly EV by 2025.

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I wonder how Thierry would have handled this, if he’d still been at the top table?

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-delays-vot...

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In the space of three or four months there’s been an almost complete volte-face (pun intended) in the industry. THB can’t have retained the trust of JLRs owners and investors alike.
Whatever statements JLR made in its “misconceptions” PowerPoint presentations, or it’s “all-electric hype by 2025” - it’s been a corporate communications disaster; so it’s easy to believe there’s been chaos behind the steely facade of JLRs strategic management. Perhaps, one too many basking in previous glories?
Corporate succession planning (even by THB himself) has appeared weak or non-existent.
It’s the proverbial car crash and pantomime.

I’ll also remark that dealers offering new JLR products with a five-figure discount hardly sends the right signals. Coupled to production lines which are obviously cranking over (efficiently?) and then stacking unsold product for months on end, whilst offering substantial discounts is a bizarre way of conducting business. Who’s kidding who, here? Massaged numbers on a balance sheet might look convincing to prospective investors but they don’t wash with the general buying public, and they’re not working for JLR by the sound of it all. The car I might have bought at a ten thousand pound discount is now probably sitting on a dusty airfield somewhere in the Midlands, awaiting the year-end to be registered by the corporate body - it’s comedy gold.
Is it any surprise that governments are cagey about offering grant support to the industry?

As much as I wish them well, they’re heading into oblivion with their present trajectory. I genuinely feel for the workforce but can’t help but think there’s going to be a cataclysmic and seismic series of events in the not too distant future at JLR.

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craigjm said:

What car can you get a five figure discount on? Where are these stacks of unsold cars?

If you ever get in to the showrooms and buy anything from them, you'd be kept in the loop.

On the second question - I think you already know the answer.

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craigjm said:

I don’t know that answer to either question so please enlighten the thread

I'm more interested in why you've homed-in on that element of my post?
Rather than me "enlightening" you with facts that are already common knowledge across many threads in the Jaguar section - many commented on by you - you feel the need to contradict or take to task whatever I post?

I think you will find we both see the same wrongs going on in the company.

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reddiesel said:

I have to say that like yourself I have marvelled at some of these discounts . I certainly saw recently a £5k reduction on a new F Type and pointed it out to a friend of mine

There was a recent direct mail pitch offering five figure discounts on the proviso finance was taken at 9%. I binned it and cannot recall whether that 9 figure applied to PCP or HP or both.
I thought it such a pity; the emphasis on selling a finance product seemed greater than selling the vehicle. What a mess the game is in.

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C3ntaur2084 said:

reddiesel said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301042...

£7k off this one ?

Look at the offside panel gap between wing, bonnet and bumper

In deference, I think the photo/image has been taken with the bonnet only partially closed; you can see the trailing edge of the bonnet is higher against the windscreen scuttle than it should be.
But, even so, a prospective purchaser spotting that on an internet advert, wouldn’t take the enquiry any further and the garage lose the chance of a sale.
Sadly, I genuinely think some of these garages miss (big time) that people purchasing these type of vehicles are actually enthusiasts - and do spot stuff like this.