Jaguar has been grappling with severely declining retail sales for years. This is reflected by the data when I looked into their annual reports for the past 5 years.
A large portion of their retail sales were due to their younger and more robust sibling, Land Rover. With its Range Rover, Defender and Discovery vehicle range’s, Land Rover has significantly outperformed Jaguar in sales each year and possesses a much stronger brand name. Without Land Rover, I doubt we would even be speaking about Jaguar at all right now.
Now let’s see what their key stakeholder, their customers, think about Jaguar as a brand. In the UK, Jaguar has maintained high customer satisfaction levels, scoring 90% and above each year.
However, this is not the same in other key markets, especially North America and China where sadly, they don’t feature at all.
This is a significant decline for Jaguar as in 2010, they scored the highest among luxury car makers in the United States (JD Power Rankings).
This is why they needed the rebrand. For Jaguar to survive, it needed to keep up with its rivals, a makeover was overdue. This makeover comes in the shape of electric vehicles and changing consumer preferences. A further analysis using Porters five forces would have shown a need to retain their place in the luxury brand marketplace.
1. Industry competitors and rivals – rival players such as Porsche and Bentley increasing their size, power and influence
2.Bargaining power of suppliers – The strength of Jaguars brand was significantly weaker than their rivals
3. Bargaining power of buyers – The threat of existing brands offering consumers much better choices in luxury cars
4. Threat of new entrants – New brands, especially in China would cause barriers to entry if Jaguar remained silent
5. Threat of substitute products – Global consumers changing their habits from buying luxury cars to more affordable options.
With their analysis completed, former CEO Thierry Bollore announced their new “Reimage” strategy in 2021. This strategy was to reinvent sustainable modern luxury by transitioning into a 100% electric brand by 2025.
After the viral rebrand, the consensus was, they don’t stand a chance! .... Well, they do. The strength of Land Rovers electric car range and high customer satisfaction scoring in key markets such as China, shows they already have their foot in the door. The rebrand has set the stage for their bold 2025 vision, to get people talking and thinking about Jaguar again. They have taken a big step to achieve this vision with their ambitious rebrand. The truth remains that if you surveyed car buyers in China or North America a year ago about Jaguar, its likely they would have no clue about the brand. But suddenly people around the world are talking about Jaguar again.
I wouldn’t read too much into the bright pink concept car or the bizarre new advert, it served its purpose, to get our attention. Now, their strategy will be to reposition themselves as a key player in the luxury car brand market. They are now appealing to a new generation of luxury car consumers, especially in the foreign markets where Jaguar barely makes any noise. How they do this will be interesting, but I don't think we will see Jaguar produce many elongated pink car's in the future.
