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Jaguar Land Rover: What Does The Future Hold For Carmaker? Is Brexit Good Or Bad?

By Jinger Jarrett
Published on: 07:14 PST, Jul 24, 2016

Jaguar is facing some new challenges with the arrival of Brexit. The Jaguar Land Rover is responsible for 90 percent of the car maker’s valuation, and Brexit could either be good or bad. The car maker will be purchasing V8 engines from BMW, and Jaguar will be rolling out some new technologies for its brand.

Nasdaq reported that with Great Britain leaving the European Union, it could pose new challenges for Jaguar. The company posted record breaking sales with the sale of 291,556 vehicles in the first half of 2016, up 22 percent from last year. Sales of the compact luxury vehicle are also up in Great Britain, and are responsible for a 21 percent increase in sales in the U.K.

The uncertainty for Jaguar comes from the UK leaving the European Union, and the brief drop off in sales after the June 23, 2016, vote to leave. Car deliveries occur several weeks after the sale, which may influence the numbers. Because most of the sales of the Jaguar Land Rover occur in the U.K., the uncertainty may influence British citizens not to make the purchase and thus reduce sales. The advantage is that with the fluctuations in the Euro and American dollar, the result could play out in Jaguar’s favor.

Motoring reported on the outlook for Jaguar, as well as the Land Rover. Designer Ian Callum discussed Brexit and the future of Jaguar. He was a guest of the Jaguar Land Rover Australia when Jaguar launched the F-Pace. Although Jaguar is a British company, like many car makers, they want to outsource some of their operations while maintaining the culture of their countries in the companies.

Callum said that Jaguar was scouting new locations to outsource.

“We have considered putting studios in other parts of the world, really for influence and the availability of people who want to live in that part of the world. California is the obvious one. China is the other one, and we discussed the idea. Both Gerry [McGovern, Callum’s counterpart at Land Rover] and I discussed the idea, and we haven’t come up with any decision, genuinely …”

The changes will allow Jaguar to improve its sales around the world while developing the best technology for its products. Selling European style hasn’t posed a problem for many companies based of the experience of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, and Audi.

Callum panned the idea of an autonomous car because she said he couldn’t imagine a Jaguar Land Rover without a steering wheel. He also said he didn’t like the retro look, although there might be some design changes in the future. Breaking into the Chinese market wasn’t an option for Jaguar at this time, because it would take away the British flavor of the Land Rover.

Digital Trends reported that one of the changes coming to Jaguar is that it’s designing cars that drive better than their drivers. In the future, the Jaguar Land Rover will be designed with technology that makes it the most aware and accurate driver on the road.

A spokesperson from Jaguar Land Rover said that the purpose of the semi and fully autonomous technology is that it isn’t designed to fully replace the driver the way the Google car is trying to. Some of the technology for the Jaguar Land Rover is about ready to be released, including the Overhead Clearance Assist, which uses a stereo camera to measure the height of obstructions that are in the road.

[Photo by Getty Images]

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