Jaguar chief executive Mike O’Driscoll has warned that Jaguar and Land Rover may have to cut more jobs in response to falling car sales. He said the company is looking hard at its cost base to ensure the business structure reflects “current market realities”.
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The two luxury carmakers, acquired last year by Tata Motors, share joint management and have three plants in the UK. They have already cut production schedules and reduced their workforce by nearly 2,000 over the past year.
Along with other UK carmakers, JLR is seeking emergency funding from the government. There have been reports the government may make an announcement on this next Friday (16 January).
Meanwhile, product planning continues. Here in Detroit, O’Driscoll hinted Jaguar is considering an all-new smaller model – small but not cheap.
It will not, however, be a direct replacement for the X-type, which is goes out of production next year.
Jaguar has taken the wraps off its fastest-ever car and promised more to come with the possible launch of a two-seater sports car in 2011, the 50th anniversary of the iconic E-type, a model once very popular with US buyers.
The company unveiled the XFR at the Detroit show. The car reached 225mph during a test at the Bonneville racetrack in the Utah desert last November although the production version is limited to 155mph.
Power comes from a supercharged 510hp version of Jaguar’s new five-litre direct-injection V8 engine which is transmitted via a six-speed automatic transmission.
The XFR goes on sale this spring and is expected to cost almost GBP60,000 ($US120,000) in the UK.
Meanwhile the company is targeting the 2011 Geneva motor show for the launch of a new two-seater – a project the company has been dancing around since it showed the F-type project in Detroit in 2000.
Company sources said the new sports car would be front engine with rear drive and could be powered by the same engine as the XFR.
