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Jaguar Land Rover posts profitable quarter amidst big yearly losses

Jaguar has posted its first profit in quite some time, as the financial quarter ending on March 31 brought in a net income of $151.6 million. However, that is the light in the end of the tunnel, as full year results through March showed a $4.58 billion loss (GBP3.6 billion). The losses are again attributable to declining sales in China, with a whiff of the still-lingering Brexit process. While JLR's annual U.S. sales were up 8.1 percent, and U.K. sales improved by 8.4%, overall sales came down 5.8% to 578,915 vehicles. For April, Chinese sales nearly halved as they dropped by 46 percent. Earlier this year, JLR's woes caused its owner Tata Motors to post the biggest ever quarterly loss in Indian corporate history, at nearly $4 billion. JLR's CEO Ralf Speth stated that the company is "reducing complexity" and transforming its business by cost savings and cash flow improvements, citing the fourth-quarter profits as an example of the ongoing turnaround. Speth said JLR has already managed to deliver $1.59 billion (GBP1.25 billion) of efficiencies and savings. JLR says its turnaround program, dubbed Charge, will drive it to at least $3.18 billion (GBP2.5 billion) of investment, working capital and profit improvements by March 2020, and that it currently has $4.84 billion (GBP3.8 billion) of cash. Speth continued that JLR will "go forward as a transformed company that's leaner and fitter," and that the sustained investment in new products and technologies will drive future demand. There has been earlier speculation of Tata Motors selling JLR to the PSA Group, but as Autocar reports, Tata's financial chief again refuted these rumors. JLR also announced today that its CFO of 11 years, Ken Gregor is stepping down after 22 years with the company, and that he will be succeeded by JLR's Chief Transformation Officer, Adrian Mardell.

Jaguar shows the face of its upcoming XE S sports sedan

Jaguar has a bunch of projects in the hopper, from the replacements for the XJ sedan and XK coupe/convertible to its very first crossover. But arguably the most important among them is the XE - the British automaker's upcoming new sports sedan. Coventry has given us all sorts of peeks at what to expect from the new XE, from a shadowy rendering of the front end to a photo of a camo-wrapped prototype. But this is our best look yet.
As part of an announcement of a planned audio-visual spectacle scheduled to herald the arrival of the XE, Jaguar has released the image you see above, showing the undisguised XE in apparent S specification. From what we can see, it sports a fascia that looks pretty much exactly as we'd expect, though that's no bad thing. The XE is set to introduce the new Ingenium family of 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines. Whether the XE S shown here would carry a version of that (with a potential supercharger) or transplant the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 from the F-Type S remains to be seen, but whatever's under the hood, we'd expect it to hold the top end of the XE range - at least for the car's introduction before a potential R, R-S or SVR version might come along to supplant it.
One way or another, don't be surprised if you see some BMW 3 Series sedans pacing down the street nervously for the next little while. In the meantime, you can scope out all the glorious details of Jaguar's planned collaborations with the likes of Emeli Sandé, Stella McCartney and Idris Elba as part of the FEEL XE campaign in the press release below.

Jaguar XKSS tipped to be next continuation model

After the Jaguar F-Type Project Seven, Range Rover Sport SVR, and run of six continuation Lightweight E-Types, the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations (SVO) division is plotting its next historic resurrection, and there's a chance it could be the Jaguar XKSS. That's the word from SVO head John Edwards to Dutch outlet Autovisie, but we need to emphasize the word "could," because the XKSS is one of about four finalists - a "major contender" - among a long list of 65 ideas for the Special Operations to devote itself to. Edwards said that SVO projects need to have some kind of story behind them, a qualification the XKSS doesn't lack. In the 1950s Jaguar raced the D-Type to three Le Mans wins among its list of victories, but retired as a factory team at the end of 1955. When Jaguar decided to turn 25 unused D-Type chassis' into road-going cars, the XKSS was created. The company built the 25, but a fire at the Browns Lane factory destroyed nine of them. It is those nine that will be in the continuation run, should the XKSS get the nod. Jaguar has already sold the six E-Type Lightweight models, each one for more a million pounds ($1.52M US). The XKSS could undoubtedly command even more, with its legendary roots; the 1956 model that Steve McQueen bought for $5,000 (and Jay Leno recently drove) is said to be worth thirty million. We have to think that even if the XKSS isn't chosen right now, it will certainly get the green light at some point. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar XK-SS Gathering at Pebble Beach View 13 Photos News Source: Autovisie via Motor AuthorityImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Jaguar Convertible Lightweight Vehicles Racing Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics jaguar xkss