Is Jaguar Heading For EXTINCTION?

Jaguar has faced tough times in recent years, but with a new relaunch on the horizon, will the brand sink or swim?

Looking for your next car? Auto Trader will help make finding your next vehicle easier than ever. Compare expert car reviews and recommendations, and find your perfect car through our official YouTube channel.

Check back for the latest new car reviews on everything from SUVs to supercars, plus
✅ the latest car news
✅ top tips and car advice
✅ used and new car guides
✅ best-ofs

Want to be the first to see our new videos? Enable notifications

Looking for more inspiration? 🚗

[AutoTraderTV]

What's your favourite Jaguar of all time? ⬇

[sephiros]

Can we have more capsules like that? History of brands, where they are headed, their challenges etc. It was super well written and narrated of course!

[SuperHahahaha]

They're literally fixing everything that is not the problem. Their designs are amazing, same with performance, and technology, the issue is the reliability.

[GorillaMode]

I'm German and the 3 best cars I have ever owned were Jaguars, first the XFst then I had an XE and now finally the F-Pace which is my current car. My family and colleagues drive nothing but BMW/Mercedes and too me these cars are just so common these days and nothing exciting. With Jaguar on the other hand, I find they have a much more luxurious feel/look and drive about them. None of my Jaguars have ever caused me a headache or let me down, can't say the same for my mothers or brothers BMW's. I for one hope Jaguar recover and suceed and to be honest I rather see less Jaguars on the road because looking down the road right now, every second car is a mercedes (in some form), it's just such a boring and common car, that my Jaguar feels very special around those :-D

[rosss]

I've owned 4 jaguars, one of which I still own, a 02 jag xjr. Back when they were classy, stylish and fast for a saloon. My xjr puts out 400 hp for a 02! Started at 370, pulleys etc bumped it up. I will never sell it was my dream car from my young years. Good luck to Jaguar. Get the spirit back to bring the brand back.

[randomonlinecat]

One of the reasons why businesses fail is because they are obsessed with the competition. So, most of their strategic decisions are based on the competition and not on their own business. You end up being driven and led by competitors and being at the mercy of their management. It's a never-ending catch-up situation. The management should focus on their own plan, what do they want to represent in the market, what do they want their product to mean for people. A vehicle is the second most expensive purchase for an individual after their mortgage. So you have to elicit certain emotions. Why should people want you?

[nevillewran]

I wonder if going up market is a mistake? Especially price-wise. The whole idea of Jaguar in their early-mid years was delivering a classy car with great engines & road-holding that were priced lower than Mercedes, Bentley, Maserati, etc. A great car for less money that the top echelon.
The average factory worker may not have had the money for a Jag, but they could get one when they reached management level, or even foreman. They didn't need to be chairman before they could buy a Jag.
That's what sold Jaguars for decades- a refined car with status that gave you a lot of features for a reasonable price. They found their niche and prospered.

[hughbarton]

I worked at a Jaguar dealership in the US in the 1995-2001" Ford era" in sales management, and would like to share my personal experiences. Jag was riding high on a justly earned reputation for vastly improved quality, and the cars had a style that marketed lovingly to Jag's history and DNA. I quickly realized that these wonderful cars ( this was pre X-Type...) were highly emotional things to their owners. It was very simple: if the prospective buyer was unmoved emotionally, they would go buy a Benz/Lexus/whatever. For the passionate prospect, " comparison shopping" simply didn't happen: anyone who started a line of inquiry involving statistics/pricing/features was responsed to with an amiable, studied indifference. If you "liked" another make more than Jaguar, than that is what you should
If you fell madly in love at first sight, we were in good shape.
Jaguar can only hope to face a tumultuous auto market with cars that are intensely unique statements of identity.
It has worked just fine for Porsche.
Good luck and Godspeed, old friends. Hope you're around for as long as automobiles exist at all.

[NiallMurraymurraynt]

Just left JLR today after 6 years working there. There has been massive change in the last few months with a new CEO and New engineering director. They seem to be doing the right things and come across as more modern leaders.

[Lanser]

The biggest trouble with Jaguar is their pricing, when I spec up E-Class, A6 and XF to similar levels the Jag is always far too expensive and slightly behind in tech

[paulchipp-smith]

Having spent many years as an independent Jaguar specialist working on all of the models from C-Type to I-Pace, I have seen the many reincarnations regarding design and engineering and worked with many of those previously at the top within Jaguar.

Jaguar was at the top of the JD Powers manufacturers list in the late naughties with some great cars, designed by Ian Callum, and engineered by Mike Cross, a great combination. Jaguar management was swiftly replaced by Land Rover management and LR's 'that will do' from management to dealer attitude quickly set in.

With the introduction of the new aluminum XF, XE, and F-Pace. inferior quality interiors, poor quality Ingenium engines became common complaints. LR's poor attitude to these complaints may have been commonplace with LR owners, but was not acceptable with repeat Jaguar owners. The introduction of joint dealerships did not help the matter.

Having recently seen the refreshed models, quality is now where it should have been, and reliability levels are yet to be assessed. Jaguar should be left to build their own product, to their standards, retain their DNA, and be allowed to compete within their own marketplace, not suppressed by LR.

[lassebauer]

If they want to compete with Porsche, they have to design a car that literally blows the pants off people. Not something "safe", but something in the E-type territory. Otherwise, I think they'll end up next to SAAB.

[lesereise]

I fell in love with the design of the XE when I saw the first commercial and waited 3 years till I could get a used one for a price I could afford. I had Mercedes before, I still find Mercedes better interior-wise but outside design XE I still love. In Germany there aren't many dealerships around, so no wonder it seems exotic to people! You have to go far if you want to look at a Jag and most people already think it's a super expensive car anyway. Jag has the wrong image to what they wanted to become. It will be interesting to see if the new strategy, whill be a better fit.

[devilzshack]

I used to own a Jag XJ here in Canada. If it weren't for the extended warranty on that car, I would have had to file for bankruptcy. My car was going to the garage every 3 months because something or the other just kept on breaking. I don't think the quality of their manufactured units can command that price point. Ohh also, horrible horrible customer service.

[epbrown]

I'm sorry to hear this. Sales aside, they've been nailing it design-wise. The F-type coupe and F-Pace are my favorites, but there's really nothing in their line-up that I don't like.

[sfkeepay]

I fell in love with Jaguar as a kid thanks to the original Equalizer television show with Edward Woodward. The XJ6 of that era had an aggressive elegance unmatched by anything around me growing up in the U.S. Then I saw my first Jag E-type, and realized the XJ wasn’t some fluke. Of course, I was ignorant of the quality issues, but the impression stayed with me. Now I just hope they rediscover their unique design voice and survive.

[meejmuas]

I think the F type was a successful launch. It is a beautiful car with so much unique, exciting touches. I really love my F type. Jaguar needs some good marketing on what makes Jaguar special and new designs of their own to back that reputation up

[alunjones]

If there's any company I hope survives, it's Jaguar. So much history laced with innovation and success. Too many people buy German when quite frankly their reliability is no better than anyone else's.

[johncrocker]

I've got an XKR 5.0 Litre supercharger. Its a fab car. Great build quality. All as tight as it was when new. Drives superbly.

[seandavie]

Jaguars of old always punched above their weight. Sir William understood the importance of value relative to the competition. Going all electric is a tricky one, but moving Jaguar to a mega priced brand is bound to fail, especially since the brand has diluted its brand over the years.