Jaguar Looking To Grow Through Aggressive Expansion

2016 Jaguar XE (Credit: Jaguar)

While Jaguar’s been making some big moves lately, the fact is that that British brand is still a small force in the global automotive industry. If the automaker has its way, everything will change in a few short years through an aggressive and lofty plan to significantly grow its sales and model lineup, according to Australian site Car Advice.

In the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) arrangement, Jaguar makes up only about 10 percent of the company’s worldwide sales. In other words, people scoop up far more Range Rovers, Discoveries, Defenders, etc. than XFs, F-Types, etc. The goal is to shift that number to 30 percent of all JLR sales by the year 2020. Sounds impossible? Maybe, but Jaguar is working hard to rise to the challenge.

To expand aggressively, Jaguar must scoop up customers from the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche and Lexus. That’s a tall order, but a key element will be portraying the British brand as exciting and rebellious. Younger car shoppers should respond well to the idea of driving something different from what their parents like, if the messaging and image surrounding Jaguar is crafted just right. That means Jaguar is quickly sloughing off the stuffy persona it used to wear so well, like its latest marketing push the plays up how it’s “good to be bad.”

Of course, the F-Pace is another important element of this aggressive expansion strategy. The fact is that consumers are turning to SUVs in a big way lately, thanks to the Great Recession disappearing in the rear-view mirror and gas prices plunging. Most likely, Jaguar will launch at least one more SUV model, but two are reportedly coming: one bigger than the F-Pace and one smaller.

The Jaguar XE will be another critical component of future expansion. It is going up against some well-established sports sedans, so that will be a true cat fight.

As the second-largest automotive market in the world, the United States is squarely in Jaguar’s sights. The British brand should be looking to grow its dealer network in key areas such as California and the Eastern Seaboard.