Two beauties in auction!
Ford is auctioning its 2 British marques, Jaguar and Land Rover. The prospective buyers include Tata Motors, Mahindra&Mahindra, Cerberus Capital Management (who took over Daimler of Chrysler), One Equity Partners, Ripplewood Holdings, and Texas Pacific Group.
As with any other acquisitions, there are many issues to take into account:
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Will the Jaguar XF be strong enough of a solution to the decline of Jaguar’s sales (nearly half from years ago)? In the picture is Jaguar’s new XF saloon, the new modern version from Jaguar, which is hoped to be a huge hit with younger customers ( who probably were not too fond of the previous ‘retro’ design of Jaguar)
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The daunting global credit squeeze VS. the financing of this capital-intensive business? Hmm..probably not a good idea L
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What happens if European Commission really impose the limits of CO2 emission target upon car manufacturers? (And yes both Jaguar and Land Rovers ‘drink’ a lot).
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How to curb and manage the possibility of hostile unions with over 19,000 skeptical employees
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What sorts of deal should be put forward, and what sorts of deal is FORD willing to put up with? Maybe something like the Cerberus-Daimler-Chrysler deal?
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Is there any other ways that more efficiency can be achieved, both financially and operationally? (i.e the 3 factories and separate design centres to produce less than 270,000 cars annually)
Both Jaguar and Land Rover are not to be acquired separately, due to the partial integration in their operation. Imagine that, it’s like 2 birds in one stone! Whatever bids are being put forth, and whatever decisions are being taken, surely they won’t be emotional ones 
I’m curious…Who, in ur opinion, will be their new proud owner?
Credit: The Economists, Sept 1st-7th, pg.52
2 Comments
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hmm, i smell an MG Mini history about to repeat itself. my guess is Jaguar will go extinct only to be resurrected later just like how BMW resurrected the Mini. Jags got the goods, but somehow got confused with its branding. look at the super exclusive Jag XJ,XK,XF families and the run of the mill S-Type. Are Jags exclusive cars or more like cars for the masses? that’s the million dollar question that will decide Jags likelihood to survive in my humble opinion…
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Hi Panksy! Nice to see you finally writing down your opinion here! You’re a great writer & a smart thinker. We’ll benefit from knowing a bit more from you
Interesting point of view! I do notice the changes in their direction too. To answer your question: Now I kinda see Jags as ‘exclusive cars for the masses’. But I do think it’s heading down the right path, though.
Its exclusivity needs to be refreshed, and I think they’ll be better off when positioned in the new destination market. It sort of brings them out of the disguised ‘mediocrity’ if I may put it that bluntly. In short, I do see this as an evolution that may well strengthen them in the long run.