2014 Jaguar F-type on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover rescues British off-road tuner Bowler

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) rescued British off-road tuner Bowler from an uncertain fate. The firm has worked with Land Rover in the past, but it has always been independent. While JLR isn't in an ideal position to make acquisitions, and its recent financial troubles are well documented, Bowler was on the brink of shutting down. The small, 34-year old company had entered administration, and the 26 people it employed risked losing their jobs. Monetary details haven't been released, meaning we don't know how much Bowler was worth, but the firm pointed out it's now fully owned by SVO. It joins SV, Vehicle Personalization, and Classic as the division's fourth pillar. It's too early to tell precisely where Bowler will fit in the JLR latticework, because the initial focus will be on stabilizing the company. It will remain based in Belper, England, and every member of its full-time staff has been offered a position as a JLR employee. Bowler made a name for itself by turning the original Defender into a rally car, and Land Rover said the expertise it acquired during decades of racing is highly sought after, so that's a hint we'll see more hardcore models developed jointly by the two companies sooner or later. The new Defender would lend itself well to the Bowler treatment. The Bowler name could replace the SVX nameplate used on the stillborn, V8-powered Discovery, for example. The tuner's focus on off-pavement performance means we're unlikely to see a Bowler-badged Jaguar, but anything is possible as global demand for SUVs (especially quick ones) continues to rise. What's certain is that, once Bowler is stable, it will grow bigger.

2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Editor's Note: Our reporter was anxious to get some time behind the wheel of the XF Sportbrake, even though Jaguar only had a very small window available for us to drive it. As a result, we weren't able to capture our usual original images to go with the Quick Spin story. Please accept our regrets, and Jag's lovely stock photography, instead.
The last wagon attempt from Jaguar was the X-Type, built between 2003 and that model line's unceremonious end in 2009. That X-Type and its legacy represent a real dog of a chapter for Jaguar, and for the Halewood factory where the barker was built. It was the final joke told prior to the brand's proper rebirth phase - a phase we're enjoying the heck out of today.
Current magnanimous Jaguar owner Tata can be thanked for this new wagon, the XF Sportbrake. Like all newness coming from Jag these days, this new wagon also feels lightyears more serious an offering, ready to compete squarely with established premium wagon makers across Europe. A Jaguar wagon in America is a far-off priority for the company, frankly. Still we deserve to know what we're missing for the time being from this (sometimes overly) cherished British firm.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut thousands of UK jobs

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to cut thousands of jobs as the company faces lower demand in China and a slump in sales of diesel cars in Europe. The central English firm builds a higher proportion of its cars in Britain than any other major or medium-sized carmaker and has also spent millions of pounds preparing for Brexit, in case there are tariffs or customs checks. Britain's business minister Greg Clark said on Thursday it is clear why a no-deal Brexit would add to the problems with further costs and disruption. JLR lost 354 million pounds ($450 million) between April and September 2018 and had already cut around 1,000 roles in Britain, shut its Solihull plant for two weeks and announced a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich site. Its Chief Executive Ralf Speth warned in September that the wrong Brexit deal could cost tens of thousands of car jobs and posed a threat to production at the automaker. The Tata Motors-owned company, which employs around 40,000 people in Britain and has boosted its workforce at new plants in China and Slovakia in recent years, unveiled plans to cut costs and improve cash flows by 2.5 billion pounds last year including "reducing employment costs and employment levels." Those cuts will be "substantial" and run into the thousands, the source told Reuters. "The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, not affecting production-line staff "at this stage." The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday. Ford also said on Thursday it will cut thousands of jobs in Europe, exit unprofitable markets and discontinue loss-making vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort aimed at improving profit margins in the region. Brexit warnings JLR, which became Britain's biggest carmaker in 2016, had been on course to build around 1 million vehicles by the turn of the decade, reported on Thursday a 4.6 percent drop in full-year sales to just under 600,000 vehicles. Demand in China, which had once been one of its strongest countries but has since been hit by a slowdown, fell by 21.6 percent, the biggest drop of any of its markets. "The economic slowdown in China along with ongoing trade tensions is continuing to influence consumer confidence," said Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam.