Filed under: Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata
Tata: No Jaguar/Land Rover sales data for the U.S.
Fans of our monthly By the Numbers posts may have noticed the conspicuous absence of sales data for both Jaguar and Land Rover over the past few months. The reason we haven't included their sales figures is because we haven't been able to find them since Ford handed over ownership of the two British brands to Tata. The automaker from India says that it will no longer report U.S. sales data for its two newest assets because of what it calls a strategy that "stresses quality over quantity." A spokeswoman for Jaguar tells Ward's Auto that the brands were forced to report their numbers when owned by Ford and now, since they're privately owned by Tata, they don't have to. She also notes that the sales figures could create a "distorted and potentially harmful commentary." Yeah, we suppose that happens when you sell a fraction of what your competition does. Still, Jaguar is missing out on an opportunity to revel in the relative success of its new XF, which we know has bumped up the brand's pitiful sales performance in the U.S. Regardless, By the Numbers will no longer include spots for Jaguar and Land Rover unless someone wants to go out and count their sales by hand. Thanks for the tip, Joaquin![Source: Ward's Auto]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Eric 6:47PM (9/12/2008)
"a strategy that 'stresses quality over quantity.'"
That's marketing speak for "our sales numbers are so disappointing that we don't want anyone to know".
Reply
thecheddar 6:57PM (9/12/2008)
You can still get Jag/LR sales numbers if you get access to Polk numbers - They measure by publicly reported registration numbers. It's more accurate than others, as some manufacturers manipulate when they report the sales.
Ask your readership for their Polk reports and you'll likely get the goods.
Reply
Torrent 7:53PM (9/12/2008)
"Quality over Quantity".... That means 2 things:
They're lying, because Tata doesn't care about quality- after all- they did make a car with 1 windshield wiper.
And 2: They didn't sell any cars this month.
Reply
JD 8:45PM (9/12/2008)
You can't measure the quality/awesomeness of a car by how many windshield wipers it has. You know what else has 1 windshield wiper? MB E class for a while, for one. Not nice enough?
The CCX has only one wiper. The CLK-GTR. The Enzo. The Carrera GT. The McLaren F1. I don't think I need to go on any further.
brit_jag 9:02PM (9/12/2008)
can u even afford a jag or land rover. JAG and LAND ROVER quality F'ng sucked even before they bought those two companies. Either way wait till they buy your a** LOLLLL coz they're about to buy everything.
jim 9:13AM (9/13/2008)
Mercedes Benz built an entire line up of cars for about 15 years with one windshield wiper. An obvious sign of quality.
Yaroukh 5:28PM (9/13/2008)
brit_jag: Wrong. Jag quality sucked before Ford. Furd has fixed that.
Alex 8:11PM (9/12/2008)
seems an odd move considering the relative success of the XF. If Tata does what it has claimed it will do and green-light all prototypes and allow the designers, not the bean counters, to design the cars; we should see them reverse this tactic.
Reply
JD 8:35PM (9/12/2008)
Lol! So they don't want to release their sales data. How do they justify it? The most cliche answer that is possible! Give those PR people absolutely nothing for their lack of creativity, please.
Reply
the vegas style guy 9:37PM (9/12/2008)
I was passed by a very nice Low Range Lexus yesterday, then I realized it was that new Jag XF.
Yuk.
Reply
icu812ru469 10:00PM (9/12/2008)
Just like movie companies that don't have 'advance showings' for critics... usually it means the movie is horrible. Tata doesn't want anyone knowing their business because there probably is no business to report. Very sad how Jaguar has come to this point... Land Rover always stunk and finally everyone has come to that realization.
Reply
rdiddy 10:37PM (9/12/2008)
Firstly, TATA has not stopped them revealing the numbers, the management of JLR has chosen to stop reporting them. The only reason they reported then earlier was because that was Ford's policy. No more Ford, no more policy.
Reply
Derek 11:30PM (9/12/2008)
Who cares? The only sales that matter to me would be the one I bought if I was buying a Jag. What should really matter to Jag/Tata is the bottom line, not sales (see: Ford/GM/Mopar over the past few decades).
Does it really matter how many they sell anyways? If I was a Jag owner, I'd say the fewer the better! It's a luxury marque, so exclusivity is the name of the game. I'd rather have my car be one of only one or two of its type out in the lot.
Reply
ken_aisin 11:43PM (9/12/2008)
The reliability of Jaguar and Range Rover is so horrible that I would never consider buying one even if Tata offers the customers free curry for life. Don't get me wrong, I love curry.
Reply
LDMAN 1:31AM (9/13/2008)
Actually, no. Jaguar is highly ranked in terms of quality but it is true that Land Rover is not.
IF Tata chose not to release these figures, I would imagine it is because of a lot of investors are questioning its purchase of JLR.
Tata Motors stock value was almost halved after they bought these British brands. If US sales figures were to further disappoint investors Tata s ability to raise capital to invest in JLR will be further compromised.
Yaroukh 5:32PM (9/13/2008)
ken_aisin: No. What is horrible is lack of knowledge in combination with writing comments - like what you have just shown...
ken_aisin 7:13PM (9/13/2008)
I was not surprised when Tata's stock fell. There are way better things to buy.
ken_aisin 7:14PM (9/13/2008)
Yaroukh: Ranger Rover probably makes the least reliable vehicles. If you are so full of knowledge, you should know that Range Rover is always ranked at the bottom of the lists when it comes to reliability. Jaguar isn't doing much better either.
You're probably one of those dumb nuts who loves Range Rover to death while it spends more time at the dealer than at your own garage. Or maybe you work for Tata?
psu48187 3:21PM (9/14/2008)
@ ken_aisin: My your posts are always filled with invalid conclusions and assumptions. If Jaguar quality is so bad, then show recent quality score dictating that.
ken_aisin 11:02AM (9/15/2008)
chuck, it's a minor slip of mind for a 60-year-old granny.