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Jaguar sold 20,346 cars in the UK in 2008 - an increase of nearly nine per cent over 2007. Globally Jaguar did well too, selling 65,350 vehicles, up eight per cent on 2007's figures.

The new Jaguar XF is responsible for much of the company's success. Jaguar's managing director Mike O'Driscoll said: "We introduced the all-new, award-winning Jaguar XF, and that attracted significant numbers of new customers to the brand."

Jaguar's results are impressive in the context of figures rele...Read the full article

They do seem to be doing rather well without that 4 pot engine in the XF that allegedly EVERYONE wants (Roadtester !) Can't think why that would be cos everyone wants small diesels these days rather than the engines that are the nicest to drive in upmarket cars like this.

I'll repeat what I just said in another thread, which is that I've only seen two XFs since they were launched. Who is buying them? Where are they driving them? I live just outside London, not down a hole and a successful car is normally a visible one (see: 3-Series, 5-Series, C-Class, E-Class, Fiesta, Golf, etc. etc.)

ThwartedEfforts:

a successful car is normally a visible one (see: 3-Series, 5-Series, C-Class, E-Class, Fiesta, Golf, etc. etc.)

Ferrari 430 ? Mercedes SL ? Aston Martin DB9 ? All successful cars but sold in low volume and priced, one assumes, with the margin that permits this.

Those figures are terrible.

Only the increase compared with the catastrophic figure for 2007 provides any sort of 'good news' angle at all.

Only a few years ago, Jaguar was shooting for sales of 200,000 to 300,000 a year.

In 2002, it sold 68,000 cars worldwide in the first six months alone.

Also in 2002, but taking the year as a whole, Jag sold about 60,000 cars just in the US market.

Even back in the eighties, Jag got annual sales up to about 55,000 with only a two-car range (XJ and XJ-S).

Against those benchmarks, the current sales for a four-car range are dreadful.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm sure it's much better to be Mercedes or BMW who both sold much less cars in 2008 (despite having a range of models that runs into double figures). Too funny.

ThwartedEfforts:

I'll repeat what I just said in another thread, which is that I've only seen two XFs since they were launched. Who is buying them? Where are they driving them? I live just outside London, not down a hole and a successful car is normally a visible one (see: 3-Series, 5-Series, C-Class, E-Class, Fiesta, Golf, etc. etc.)

London? Are you sure? Sounds like you're living in Antarctica. I live in a little town 30 miles northwest of London and I encounter at least one XF on the road every day, usually more. Last week I saw three on the road within 15 minutes.

It's pretty much been this way since the XF launched (in fact I saw four on the road in about as many minutes before the first sales even started, I must have stumbled on to a demonstration route).

Steelester:

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm sure it's much better to be Mercedes or BMW who both sold much less cars in 2008 (despite having a range of models that runs into double figures). Too funny.

 

 

Dare I suggest that you might feel better if you go and lie down in a dark room for a bit?

roadtester:

Dare I suggest that you might feel better if you go and lie down in a dark room for a bit?

How would you know what to suggest ? Your world doesn't seem to converge with the rest of us. Terrible figures. Terrible.

there are a fair few XF's about

living in Northampton it is likley that i will see at least 2 on the road each day, if not more!!

Also surprisingly the BMW M3 seems to be everywhere at the moment!!

 

roadtester:

Those figures are terrible. Against those benchmarks, the current sales for a four-car range are dreadful.

Well said roadtester. Perspective is key here.

We must all be aware that the fate of JLR has a lot of fingers in the pie, not least of course a British car magazine and its staff - see Hilton Holloway's blog piece on 'raising the gaze' to the future models of JLR, away from its highly unsure present.

Unless Jaguar and its relative sales success in a falling market is to be viewed as a separate entity it behoves us also to report the sales of the other brand in JLR, Land Rover. Whilst Jag's sales fell 9% in December LR's fell 45%. In the UK LR outsells Jag by roughly two to one. Consequently the precipitous decline of LR's once booming sales, is of more importance to JLR as a viable business overall. If this continues it may make sense to start talking of Jag and LR separately, with the possibility of Jag surviving/being sold off and LR being drastically slimmed down or finishing.

For comprehensiveness, whilst reporting that Jag sales were up in 2008 let us also report that in the UK so were the sales of Volvo, Smart, and Kia. And it should perhaps be noted that Audi, although just missing recording a sales increase in 2008(-0.02% to 2007), did nevertheless sell over 100,000 units, almost five times as much as Jaguar, in its home market, when, as roadtester pointed out, as late as 2002/3 Jag bosses were confident of challenging the German premium trio(BMW, Audi, M-B) with a full product line-up match up. This is the context to view these figures in and perhaps why David Smith, the JLR boss, is now admitting that a three-plant, two design&engineering centre, nine product line, c.150,000 units p.a. manufacturer is totally unviable and needs to slash its current size workforce, irrespective of UK state subsidies.