Ford Volta Pagina: Mulally Si Prepara A Vendere Jaguar ?

[stev66]

Dal “Corriere della Sera” - Alan Mulally, amministratore delegato della Ford, non ha escluso la cessione del marchio britannico Jaguar insieme a quella, già avviata, di Aston Martin. Ford potrebbe anche consolidare altri sei dei marchi del gruppo nel quadro della ristrutturazione in corso. Il gruppo di Detroit ha registrato una perdita di sette miliardi di dollari nei primi nove mesi del 2006.

[Matteo B.]

Speriamo.

[Guest Riccardo]

Dal “Corriere della Sera” - Alan Mulally, amministratore delegato della Ford, non ha escluso la cessione del marchio britannico Jaguar insieme a quella, già avviata, di Aston Martin. Ford potrebbe anche consolidare altri sei dei marchi del gruppo nel quadro della ristrutturazione in corso. Il gruppo di Detroit ha registrato una perdita di sette miliardi di dollari nei primi nove mesi del 2006.

[hankel]

Che due bal.. sti annunci della dirigenza Ford!!!

Si decidano e basta e la smettano di fare annunci. Se devono vendere cosi fanno solo perdere valore a Jaguar con sto tira e molla!!!

[Guest -jag-]

Non è vero proprio niente. E' la stampa americana che "ha fatto finta" di fraintendere e così la Ford ha deciso di diramare questo comunicato ufficiale:

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/07012007/325/ford-ceo-mulally-says-jaguar-sale.html

In pratica Jaguar non è in vendita, non vi è mai stata questa idea. Discorso completamente diverso invece per Aston Martin.

[Guest Riccardo]

Non è vero proprio niente. E' la stampa americana che "ha fatto finta" di fraintendere e così la Ford ha deciso di diramare questo comunicato ufficiale:

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/07012007/325/ford-ceo-mulally-says-jaguar-sale.html

In pratica Jaguar non è in vendita, non vi è mai stata questa idea. Discorso completamente diverso invece per Aston Martin.

[hankel]

AUTO: JAGUAR IN ROSSO PER 715 MLN DOLLARI NEL 2006

(AGI)- Detroit, 24 gen. - Il marchio Jaguar ha perso piu' di 715 milioni di dollari nel 2006 e per il 2007 si prevede un rosso di 550 milioni. La notizia e' stata pubblicata sul quotidiano Detroit News ed e' il risultato di un'analisi interna al gruppo Ford. Secondo il documento, nel 2008 le perdite dovrebbero attestarsi intorno ai 300 milioni e per parecchi anni non si prevedono bilanci in attivo. L'americana Ford ha comprato la Jaguar, un'icona British, nel 1989, scommettendo pesantemente sul tentativo di rendere un marchio di lusso appetibile per un mercato di massa, ma l'investimento non e' stato proficuo. Gli analisti di Wall Street parlano di una possibile cessione della compagnia da parte della Ford, che proprio adesso sta affrontando una delicata ristrutturazione delle proprie operazioni in Nord America, ma l'amministratore delegato Alan Mulally ha dichiarato ai giornalisti che il marchio non e' in vendita.

[Coaster]

Is Jaguar an endangered species?

Luxury brand hopes to claw way out of $715M hole

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit New

Daniel Mears / The Detroit News

Critics say Jaguar's latest models, the XK, above, and XKR, exemplify the best attributes of the brand. Even competitors have said they are impressed with the stylish vehicles.

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20070124&Category=AUTO01&ArtNo=701240402&Ref=V4&Profile=1148Q=100&MaxW=250

Any hopes still harbored for a quick turnaround at Jaguar were dashed when Ford Motor Co. executives presented their latest projections at a high-level meeting last week.

Ford does not break down Jaguar's financial performance, but The Detroit News has learned the brand lost more than $715 million last year. According to an internal analysis outlined to executives, the British luxury marque is expected to lose more than $550 million this year, more than $300 million next year and is not expecting a profit for several years.

The irony in the ugly numbers is that Jaguar finally seems to have a realistic turnaround strategy. The famed marque is turning away from the mass market models upon which it squandered much of its legacy to concentrate on building elegant sport coupes and sedans for the motoring elite. Analysts applaud the strategy, but anyone familiar with new Ford CEO Alan Mulally's disdain for money losers has to question Jaguar's future.

Jaguar may not officially be for sale, but Mulally has made it clear he is taking a hard look at the marque.

Given such ominous signs, one could excuse Bibiana Boerio for appearing a little desperate these days.

The managing director of Jaguar Cars came to Detroit this month with a show-stealing concept car and a simple, straightforward message that few were interested in hearing.

"Jaguar is alive and kicking," she told The News, leaning forward and tapping out each syllable of that statement on a reporter's knee. "We have a plan. We know what we stand for."

Quality over quantity

That plan involves turning away from lower-priced models like the midsize X-Type and larger S-Type sedans -- both based on Ford platforms -- and concentrating on higher-end models that are all about style and performance. Boerio believes that by trading sales volume for higher markups, Jaguar can eventually turn a profit.

A decade ago, that might have been welcome news in Dearborn. But most at Ford world headquarters have had enough. Jaguar is no longer seen as a brand as much as a bottomless pit into which the automaker has hurled billions of dollars.

Ford bought Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion -- far more than conventional wisdom held the brand was worth. It was widely viewed as a vanity purchase. Since then, Ford has invested about $10 billion in the brand, including a $1.2 billion bailout in 2005. Now, with the bulk of Ford's assets mortgaged to fund its North American restructuring, Boerio will be hard-pressed to make a compelling case for more help.

"Clearly, a huge amount of money has been spent on Jaguar by Ford; much of that will never be recouped," said Garel Rhys, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry at Cardiff University in Wales and a leading British automotive expert. "Jaguar has something like 18 months to demonstrate that the money is doing something."

Boerio acknowledges the uncertainty can be a distraction, but says she does not have time to worry about it.

"I'm focused on the things we can control," Boerio said.

And her team has made progress

Up until a couple of years ago, Jaguar was producing about 120,000 automobiles a year at three plants in Britain -- less than some individual Ford factories in North America produce annually. Jaguar closed one factory, Browns Lane, in 2005 and has transformed another into a consolidated operation with its sister brand, Land Rover.

Quality is another area where Jaguar has shown improvement.

Long synonymous with design and performance, the brand also has been known for its slipshod quality. That has changed under Ford's watch. For the past three years, the brand has received consistently high marks for customer satisfaction and scored in the top five of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched annual survey of initial quality, which measures customer satisfaction in the first 90 days of ownership.

Cars 'speak for themselves'

Boerio has not neglected design and performance either.

"I prefer to let the cars speak for themselves," Boerio said, pointing to Jaguar's latest models, the XK and XKR -- both stylish vehicles that critics agree exemplify the best attributes of the brand. She also points to the Jaguar C-XF, the sleek new concept unveiled at the Detroit auto show.

AutoWeek magazine named the CX-F "best in show," and even rival automakers could not help but be impressed by the rakish sports sedan.

General Motors Corp.'s product czar Bob Lutz praised the new Jaguar in his blog.

The C-XF may be a concept, but it is firmly rooted in reality. Boerio said the production XF will hew closely to the display model. Due on the market in early 2008, it will replace the S-Type and be promoted as Jaguar's entry vehicle in the most competitive markets: Germany, Japan and the United States.

That doesn't mean the X-Type is going away; Jaguar will emphasize different products in different regions, Boerio said.

The X-Type will continue to be an important part of the brand's product strategy in other countries, with new content and features to make up for the vehicle's deficiencies.

Boerio said this new product strategy is already being implemented, and offers Jaguar's U.S. sales totals as proof. Over the past year, sales in this country dropped from 30,424 units to 20,683. Boerio insists this is good news for Jaguar, because it shows the brand is returning to its roots as a niche manufacturer of luxury automobiles.

Back to the future

The problem with that analysis is that Jaguar never really was a true luxury brand. For most of its history, Jaguar has produced beautiful cars for people who wanted more luxury and performance than they could afford.

Epic victories at Le Mans and Monte Carlo in the 1950s made the marque a player in the world sports car arena and a popular choice for motor enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic, but did not diminish its mid-market appeal back in Britain. As late as the 1960s, Jags were still de rigueur for British bank robbers and the bobbies who chased them.

"When Ford bought Jaguar, they actually bought a myth," said Rhys, of the Centre for Automotive Industry. But he added that the way forward for Jaguar may well be to embrace that legend.

Though he accuses Boerio of taking liberties with Jaguar's history when she talks about taking the brand back to its roots, Rhys also believes she is taking Jaguar in the right direction. He says specialty nameplates like Jaguar account for 12 percent of the world automotive market. The economic import of such brands is even more impressive because of the prices -- and profits -- they command.

"Jaguar gives Ford a portion of that global executive market, which is something General Motors doesn't really have," Rhys said. "The rewards of getting it right are phenomenal."

Still, for analysts like Bradley Rubin of BNP Paribas, that upside potential does not amount to much when weighed against the billions of dollars Ford has already lost on Jaguar -- and the expected red ink going forward.

"They've never been profitable. They've just been bleeding money. If I were Ford, I'd cash in my chips," said Rubin, adding that Wall Street would welcome a sale. "It's a huge distraction. Ford needs to focus on its own problem, which is North America."

You can reach Bryce Hoffman at (313) 222-2443 or .

[Coaster]

in sostanza, jag perde un sacco di soldi e vende un terzo di quello che vendeva 5 anni fa, e si sono decisi a darsi una svegliata. ciò significa allontanarsi dal mercato di massa, abbandonare xtype e stype (in america, mi pare di capire..) e concentrarsi su produzioni più "nobili", cosa che è favorita dal salto fatto in tema di qualità, enormemente migliorata. jaguar non è ufficialmente in vendita, ma mulally è poco incline a sopportare una situazione simile, dopo aver speso 10 miliardi di dollari dopo l'acquisto nell'89, (1.2 miliardi solo l'anno scorso) si parla di 18 mesi per vedere se le cose cambiano. quindi in casa ford si sta affrontando il dilemma...ci teniamo il nostro accesso al mondo executive dell'auto, o lasciamo perdere, dato che le cose già ci vanno parecchio male e abbiamo bisogno di una profonda ristrutturazione soprattutto in nord america???