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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
Introduction
In the UK car market, there is a range of impressive car manufacturers. They manufacture different
models in order to match the customer demand and also the competitive market. Some of the major
producers that manufacture cars in UK are Tata Motors (Jaguar, Land Rovers), GM (Vauxhall/Opel),
BMW (MINI, Rolls Royce), Nissan, VW (Bentley), Honda, and Toyota. For the last 5 years, automotive
has been the biggest UK manufacturing export sector whereby they exported more than 78% of the
Car manufacturing is a very profitable business, that’s why most of the manufacturing industries are daily
upgrading their market mix in order to meet their customers demand and also match the market
competition. This is a mature market and there are entry barriers imposed mostly for the newcomers. The
business requires enough resources and heavy investments as a source of raw materials, and also strong
technological experience. For each market segment, newcomers face strong competition as they try to
The JLR Company is one of the UK Car manufacturing company founded in 1922 by two motorcycle
enthusiasts namely William Lyons and William Walmsley as Jaguar. At first, the company was producing
motorcycle side cars and later switched to car manufacturing. The company merged with the British
Motor Corporation I 1966 and also Leyland and became British Leyland in 1975 (Thomson 2008).
Jaguar was first listed in the London Stock Exchange in 1985 and became become FTSE100 index
constituent till it was acquired by Ford in 1989. Later in march 2008, both Jaguar and Land Rover were
bought by Tata Motors, which is an Indian Corporation. However through an agreement, Ford had the
responsibility of feeding Jaguar with the necessary information, technology, power trains and also the
JLR is recognized not only in UK but worldwide for being the leading in producing the most luxurious
cars. The company manufactures a wide range of luxurious cars such as convertibles, sedans such as S
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
type, XK, XJ, X type, and also sedans. There are also the range rovers for the Land Rovers. Currently,
the company is forth listed in the UK market after GM, Honda, and the BMW with annual turnover of £3,
397000. JLR operates in a niche market since their goods have little consumer base in the global market.
This is well confirmed from the luxury and the executive segment which is responsible for about 11000
cars which are sold annually in the UK. It is due to this market hardness that has led the Jaguar Company
to incorporate some strategies which are explained in form of SWOT analysis that would help in
Strengths
Jaguar Land Rovers have very successful brands in the global market which have their strengths. To
start with, the company’s main strength is their leading brand of luxurious cars. Most of the company’s
cars have won some prestigious awards making the products publically acceptable. This has made Jaguar
to have an instant recognizable icon. Some of these awards include, Gear magazine awards which had
double win (best interior of the year and the best executive car of the year in 2009), and also Magazine
2009 fleet world honors. These awards came along when the company had introduced unique selling
point in Jaguar drive selector TM, Jaguar Sequential Shift TM, and Jaguar drive Control TM.
Secondly, the TATA ownership is a positive impact to the company. Though previously had negative
reactions about the sale of JLR in 2008, TATA has so far shown a genuine commitment in improving the
existing company brands and also develop more brands which would fit in the market and improve the
sales. This is because TATA Motors Limited is an old company and is the largest car producing company
in India. Following the TATA SWOT analysis, there is a great hope of improving the sales of the JLR
Company.
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
The Land Rovers British brand image is also one of the main strengths. The defender vehicle is one of the
strongest with the highest longevity compared to other cars. The fact that the car features is set for
The Range Rover brand also continues to top in sales especially in the Indian and the Chinese markets. It
has also established good markets in the Middle Eastern markets of which it has gained good market in
Weaknesses
Though the Jaguar Land Rover is quite popular in UK, it’s not the same case in the rest of the world. The
company is facing a hard opposition in struggle for market share in other continents such as Europe, Asia,
and North America by their rival competitors such as BMW 3 and 7 series, Mercedes, Porsche and Audi.
N addition, in the recent market reports, the company has been losing in the US market with their sales
declining daily. In the end of 2008, JLR recalled 2008/09 XF sedans due to rare seatbelt issue assembly.
They also recalled 2003/04 XJ model to collect abrasion of corrosion protection issue.
The increasing reliance of 4X4 in the global market would lead to risk increase in consideration of the
worldwide increase of economic crisis. The current trending issue on emission of CO 2 and the govern
legislation regarding this issue would bring in some changes would lead to impacts on the 4X4 vehicles.
Since the road tax increase did not have big impact in the market, there would b introduction of stronger
methods of reducing the increased number of large inefficient vehicles. Therefore the Land Rovers need
to be prepared for this in advance; Evoque certainly would be the next destination (Pierini & Eckert
2008).
Most of the company’s models need to improve in order to gain trust from customers in Japan and
German markets. There have been slight improvement in branding over the last few years and this calls
for more improvement in order to face the high competition. In the year 2011, all JLR brands were
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
considered below average in comparison to their cost and expected off-load capabilities (Duane &
Michael 2011).
Opportunity
In need of increasing market share and sales, JTR has targeted Canada as new market, where it has
introduced some of their new models such as XF series, and the 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged. The
company has also expanded its operations in the Indian and Chinese markets and it has been ranked as
one of the fastest growing car markets in the moment. In an addition, JTR has been active in commitment
in reducing the emission of CO2 the energy consumption per vehicle increase investment in the
Threats
Since most of JLR cars are exported overseas, the company market highly depends on the daily
fluctuation of the currency which sometimes can lead to disadvantages in the global competitors. For
instance, strong British Pound compared to weak Euro or Yen would reduce company’s sales or weaken
the financial status of the company in the Chinese and European markets. The change in price of oil and
other raw materials can also be a threat in the company’s profit. The current legislation rules from EU
standard on CO2 emission might lead to high financial crisis if the company fails to obey fully (Gross
2008).
Following the SWOT analysis, there is needed to understand the company’s latest car models and their
impact as analyzed in the market mix. It is clear to say that though JLR is enjoying market power in
Europe market, in other continents there are stiff completion from other manufacturers. Recently, in most
of these oversea markets, JLR products have been experiencing negative result in sales. This reduction of
sales has also been highly motivated by the recent economic crises globally which has affected all
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
For JLR to enjoy good sales and market shares in both Europe market and overseas there are many
changes and strategies to be laid down. This is would involve some decisions involving Human Resource
matters in order to realize and gain the potential in order to make the performance of the company
Product plan
JLR cars can satisfy the needs of the most fussy customers, because it "uses the latest materials
and technology to help make it the most efficient and luxurious. Fashionable design of the car
models is one of its biggest advantages, as it makes the product extremely attractive to
prospective consumers. For instance, the interior of the car "is superbly smart and effortlessly
The jaguar and land Rover cars interior features a suite of the latest technologies to provide
driver and passengers with the most comfortable, most enjoyable experience possible". Each
version of Range Rover includes Climate Control – Automatic with Air Filtration, Interior mood
lighting, Oxford Leather Steering Wheel and the Covered Centre Console. The 2.2-litre 150hp
eD4 engine of Range Rover for example, is one of its greatest strengths, which differs the car
from the previous models of Land Rover, as it was engineered to deliver quieter and more
Pricing plan
The price of the JLR cars differs depending on the car model and the engine specifications. As
written on the Landrovers website,”customers can choose one of the three design themes: Pure,
Prestige, Dynamic”. Pure is the cheapest version of the car which ranges between £ 29,195-32,
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
695. The range rover Evoque is the most expensive of all land rovers models.In ordr to attract
more customers, the company has to come with new pricing policy (Pierini & Eckert 2008). For
the jaguar model the XJ Luxury 3.0 V6 Diesel would be available from £53, 775 (all tax
included). Though most of jaguar cars are meant for rich people, the company is trying to
revelutionalize the market by producing models which would compete with cheap cars from
Promotion plan
The Jaguar land Rover company has established a promotion strategy through TV music
competitions where by a car would be a reward for the best singer. This would be the best way of
building the imageof the company. Use of dealerships themselves is also one of the common
advertising strategy. In this strategy, pressure is put on customers and persuaded to buy the car.
This is mostly done through impressive showrooms and good deals. Other promoting plan would
be through internet promotion press advertisement in men’s style, fashion, car magazines etc
(Bacon 2009).
The marketing mix should be implemented by groups of marketing experts responsible for
advertising through cooperation with music industry, TV and newspapers (Media team), Internet
promotion and public relations (Internet and PR team), cooperation with intermediaries/sales
centres (distribution team). There should be additional team controlling the product’s
performance on the market (customer satisfaction, pricing policy, trends, sales records). This
team will monitor sales monthly. If sales start decreasing, the company might change the pricing
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
Conclusion
Jaguar Land Rover faces a tough market, as there is wide SUV competition from most car
manufacturers, because the market is huge and luxury SUVs such as the Escalade and Cadillac
are highly regarded. Therefore, relaunch of Range Rover Evoque is a key element of building the
new image of the firm that must stand out from the crowd to increase its profits. Thanks to trust-
based marketing, Jaguar Land Rover will be perceived as a company that not only creates the
good-quality cars, but also supports noble initiatives. Since JLR will build strong consumer trust
and create a more loyal customer base, buying the company’s new car will appear to be the best
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
References
Duane, I, & Michael, A 2011, Understanding business strategy: concepts and cases: Mason, South-
Ford Motors 2009, ’Tata Motors enter into Definitive Agreement with Ford for purchase of Jaguar Land
Bacon, N 2009, ‘Competitive advantage through human resource management: best practice or core
Barney, J 2010, ‘Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage’, Journal of Management, 17, pp.
99–120
Huselid, A 2006, ‘Strategic human resources management: where do we go from here?’ Journal of
Gross, S 2009, End-of-life vehicles management in Europe: driving the change: Cases of Sweden and
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Jaguar Land Rover SWOT Analysis
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