Jaguar, one of Britain’s most iconic brands, celebrates its 85th anniversary in 2020. Jaguar’s storied history can be traced back to the 1930s, when a factory was established at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham. In 1935, the first car bearing the Jaguar nameplate was produced.
During World War II, the factory was utilized for military production, and it was here that more than 10,000 of the legendary Spitfire single-engine fighter planes were produced. The Lancaster heavy bomber flown by the Royal Air Force was produced at Castle Bromwich as well. During the war, the exteriors of the brick buildings were covered in camouflage paint. Even so, German bombers inflicted heavy damage on the factory, which was quickly rebuilt.
In the decades following the war, production returned to automobiles, and the corporate structure underwent a series of changes. Once known as Swallow Sidecars (S.S.), the company formally adopted the Jaguar name in 1945. In the 1960s, Jaguar merged with British Motor Corporation, later known as British Motor Holdings (BMH). In 1962, the legendary Jaguar E-Type sports car was born.
In 1968, BMH merged with Leyland Motor Corporation. The new entity, known as British Leyland, manufactured several legendary British sports cars including the Austin, MG, and Triumph nameplates. Land Rover was also a unit of British Leyland.
British Leyland was nationalized in 1975; in other words, the British government took partial control of the company. In the 1980s, however, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government reversed course, and British Leyland was privatized. In 1984, Jaguar was spun off from British Leyland as a stand-alone company.
Fast-forward a quarter of a century. In 2008, Tata Motors paid the Ford Motor Company $2.3 billion for Jaguar and Land Rover. The deal came about as Detroit’s automakers faced one of the worst business environments in decades. The Big Three posted losses in the billions of dollars; by 2008, with the global recession and credit crunch causing a sharp decline in demand, executives from GM and Chrysler appealed to Congress for a bailout. Meanwhile, industry observers called for Ford to shed some of its luxury brands.

Questions
1. Why has JLR prospered under the ownership of Tata Motors?
2. In 2016, Jaguar launched the second-generation XF sedan with a V6 engine and a 5-year, 60,000-mile warranty at a base price of $51,600. The new price represented a savings of approximately $5,100 from the previous model year. What is the rationale behind these changes?
3. Jaguar recently launched a new compact luxury crossover, the E-Pace, whose price tops out at nearly $50,000. Observers expect it to be a high-volume, profitable addition to the Jaguar lineup. What are its prospects for success?
4. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the next few years?