Jaguar - Kill it with Style?

You all have probably seen the new ad from Jaguar. That commercial looked more like a misplaced fashion week show than for a car launch. In addition, several cuts of this commercial, together with the speech of UK brand director Santino Pietrosanti at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards. He wasn’t talking about what cars Jaguar is developing and said nothing about what potential buyers can expect. Instead, he spoke of all the groups and communities that have been formed within Jaguar.

It is a premier for a car company to stop producing cars for a year until the model launches. Just like that commercial, it is unusual. Are these people in the ad the new target group of Jaguar? Is Elmo from Sesame Street the ideal customer in 2026?

In the meantime, they presented their first concept of the car. Again, it is unusual, different, and stands out. I don’t know if I like it, but beauty lies in the eyes of the admirer. And Jaguar has had a lot of beauty in its history. I just need to mention the E-Type or the F-Type.

The big question mark is, why did they do such a strategy?

We find that answer in the sales numbers. JLR is making record profits in 2024. Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with Jaguar. The Land Rovers are selling like crazy. The picture for Jaguar is different. Jaguar hit its record sales year in 2018 with around 180.8 thousand cars. The following year’s decline rapidly occurred, and since 2021, Jaguar has hovered around 60 thousand a year. This is just a third! That is not enough to justify having a separate brand.

So, with the low sales, the Jaguar brand marked its name on the shortlist to be killed, as who wants to keep a money-losing car brand around in that climate? With that thread in mind, Jaguar dared to try a different route. They rebranded and changed their appearance completely. If it works, they save the iconic Jaguar brand. If it fails, the outcome is the same as continuing the current path.

I can only compliment Jaguar on that bold step. People are talking about Jaguar again. I wish more companies would follow in Jaguar’s footsteps and try something new. However, their slogan “copy nothing” is not new. It is just a shortend quote from Jaguar’s founder, William Lyons, “Jaguar should be a copy of nothing”.

Transfer the Jaguar Strategy to the Foundry Industry

Jaguar’s strategy is to bring back the heritage of its iconic founder, which stands out against all other brands. I wish more people and companies in the foundry industry made it their mission to stand out and communicate what they actually stand for.

You need a fresh approach to the industry. Focusing on cents on commoditized products won’t help anyone if 50% of the revenue is gone.

The industry needs to innovate and market itself. You have to be innovative, disruptive, and bold. You cannot save your way out of a crisis with declining revenue; you need to invest time and resources in generating new business. This business might be outside of your existing customer base, which has let you down anyway.

I can only motivate you with this story to look into how you can grow your business in these times of crisis. One hint from the coach: The solution is outside the OEM and Tier 1 portals. If you want some ideas on how to start your transformation, schedule a free consultation call down below, and let’s start the conversation.