Company hopes to turn around fortunes with a vigorous global outlook and new business plan.
A couple of years ago the Jaguar and Land Rover brands were in survival mode, battered by the global recession and cast adrift from the Ford empire to become subsidiaries of India's Tata Motors.
Today the word survival" has been replaced by "ambition", says the man who helped steer Land Rover down its rocky road. The company is now underpinned by a five-year business plan that stresses cost savings along with serious spending on research and development, new products and a vigorous global outlook.
Phil Popham, now Jaguar Land Rover's director of group sales and operations, says the company sells in 174 countries, an indication of its quest to be "truly" global. And the first of the company's next big thing, the luxury Range Rover Evoque, is now in production, pointing to a smoother road ahead.
The Evoque is a small upmarket SUV previously seen Downunder only as a three-door prototype. The sleek five-door made its debut at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne.
Both versions will be available in New Zealand in November.
Jaguar Land Rover has pledged to spend £1.5 billion ($2.9 billion) a year on research and development, "possibly more than any other manufacturer, as a percentage of revenue". The money is being spent to make Jags and Land Rovers lighter, more fuel efficient and "greener".
The firm is hiring 1000 additional engineers and 1500 more production staff.
"Our advertising for engineers has brought responses from people with companies like Porsche, Lexus and Audi, people with good careers, but they have chosen to jump ship," says Popham. "It's a barometer of how others in the industry now see us. We've gone from zero to hero in just a couple of years. It's being seen as one of the biggest turnarounds in auto industry history."
As if to underline its success, it was announced recently that Jaguar has made more than £1 billion profit for 2010-11, helped by strong results from the United States, Russia and China. Tata Motors rejected Jaguar Land Rover's first business plan because it wasn't aggressive enough but Popham thinks they' are pretty pleased with the new one, particularly with the successful roll-out of Evoque.
"Evoque has surpassed all expectations since it was first shown in 2008 at the motor show in Detroit," he says. More than 300,000 people registered interest worldwide, largely via the internet, and 18,000 placed deposits.
Popham says the company is forging ahead with its plans to use sustainable technologies and although many avenues are being explored, weight reduction is the key. The next Range Rover Vogue - the big flagship model due in a couple of years - will be 400kg lighter than the current model. The 2011 Vogue has a curb weight of more than 2600kg.
Lighter weight allows smaller engines with better fuel economy and lower emissions. Evoque is now the company's smallest, lightest and most fuel-efficient vehicle. Weight savings will lead to a new generation of Jaguars with smaller engines.
The ubiquitous Defender will be replaced by about 2014 (see panel); a new Jaguar will come in under the XF and a small Jaguar sports car will go into production, possibly a spiritual successor to the E-Type.
