Specialist
Former Director at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc
Agenda
- History of Jaguar
- Drivers of underperformance
- Strategic options available for Jaguar
Questions
1.
Could you run through the history of Jaguar as a brand, maybe starting off under the Ford ownership?
2.
Looking at the platforms Ford used with Jaguar, or the perceived synergies, you mentioned the XJ and XJS it had built or were looking to measure the Lincoln platform, is that correct?
3.
What do you think Tata saw in Jaguar when it purchased JLR?
4.
What do you estimate the annual CAPEX is to run Jaguar? I think it’s roughly GBP 4bn in CAPEX or in tangible spending and fixed spending for JLR as a group.
5.
If you look at the volumes, I think with Jaguar even just five years ago has barely moved and you mentioned for 2002, a 30,000-unit difference for a couple of models. Is Tata content to have Land Rover ultimately fund Jaguar in the meantime – what’s the rationale and thinking behind the two brands of Tata ownership?
6.
What are the options for Jaguar specifically as a brand? What are the options on a portfolio level to turn this brand around? Can you can just change sedan and SUV mix or different model mix?
7.
How much expertise or IP does Jaguar have in terms of electric vehicle (EV) powertrains or from an engineering or manufacturing standpoint with the I-Pace that would be attractive to a partner?
8.
It seems that Jaguar cannot follow its previous strategies under Ford and Tata, in terms of sedan-focused, diesel-focused. If you were to move to a BEV-focused (battery electric vehicle) brand, how could fixed costs be restructured to cut spend?
9.
You mentioned that the I-Pace stands on equity value. When looking at Jaguar as a whole, if you were to spin out or sell that, do you think there is equity value?
10.
For JLR as a group, how do you look at the fundamental issue of the quality the companies have had over the years? Is the key driver of this the lack of volume and the higher spend or the high fixed cost per unit throughout the brands?
11.
In terms of solving the quality issue, you mentioned how it’s effectively too much aggressive growth, too many models, not enough spend or time or resources per model or for refresh or launch. Would it be an option for Jaguar to reduce the number of models and improve the process in time, or is the brand really damaged?
12.
I think it’s clear that a large portion of the cash to JLR does come from China and specifically from Range Rover. There’s a lot documented and reported in terms of price and inventory and dealer relationships in China, which seems to have been addressed in its recent results. What about the portfolio for Land Rover? We’ve seen pressures from the SUVs and potential reports of discounting for Range Rovers in China, brand damage, potentially, in China. What portfolio changes would you suggest for Land Rover?
13.
When looking at JLR, how do you look at the short term and then the medium and long-term timelines? China is a big issue in the short term that management clearly are addressing. Let’s say this does get addressed and it somewhat dampens the volume declines, does JLR have the cash flow from Land Rover specifically to then fund the EV strategy in Jaguar and Land Rover? Does there need to be continued financing or extra cash elsewhere or a strategic partner? What’s the timeline you’re looking at there?
14.
Do you think the equity value of JLR as a whole would be attractive to an OEM today?
