Jaguar Land Rover has found itself in a bit of a financial pinch after posting a $4.4 (£3.4 / €3.9) billion loss last quarter and that means cost cutting moves are now in effect.
We’ve already seen evidence of this as the Land Rover Discovery SVX and Range Rover SV Coupe have been given the axe. Unfortunately, that appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.
The Detroit Bureau is reporting the company’s short term plan involves eliminating variants that are “no longer economically viable.” As part of this effort, Jaguar will reportedly drop station wagons and manual transmissions in the United States. More specifically, the publication says the stick shift will be going away for the 2020 model year.
The introduction of the 2020 Jaguar XE also hints at some of these upcoming changes. While the 2019 XE was available with everything from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel to a supercharged 3.0-liter V6, the 2020 XE will only be offered with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol engine that has outputs of 247 hp (184 kW / 250 PS) and 296 hp (221 kW / 300 PS).
The diesel engine is still available in other markets, but the report suggests it might be stick around too much longer as diesel sales are declining globally. However, Jaguar has suggested this isn’t the case as the company has previously said they will continue to offer the “latest diesel and petrol engines” while also rolling out new hybrid and electric vehicles.
In the longer term, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO, Joe Eberhardt, said “We have to ask [which products] make sense.” As he explained, the E- and F-Pace are now responsible for 70% of Jaguar sales and that leaves a lot of questions about their car lineup.
That isn’t comforting news and it’s possible Jaguar could eliminate some slow selling models. The report mentions the XJ and sports cars like the F-Type, but Jaguar design director Ian Callum seemingly dismissed this a few days ago by saying coupes are “essential” to the brand.
