by Clive Sutton - Friday, 12th October 2007 -

I’ve just returned to London after spending a few days along the French Riviera seeing some clients and soaking up the late summer sunshine. I always like driving around the coastal routes – a heady mix of romance and nostalgia, as well as, of course, money.

When you consider the origin of the cars on the street – despite the ”foreign money” Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes – you could bet your parking place on the Croisette that every other car you see is likely to be a Peugeot, Renault or Citroën. Amazing patriotic loyalty.

Over a particularly good mojito one evening, I was debating with an old customer as to why there were so few British cars on our roads. The Austin, Morris, Triumph, Rover and MG – they’ve all gone.

These brands, together with Jaguar, Daimler and Land Rover, were all hoovered up by the former British Leyland only to be spewed out again to either die outright or be consigned to living death, as in the case of the resurrected MG.

Now the future ownership of Jaguar and Land Rover is up for grabs as Ford seeks to divest itself of the once key parts of the business.

As someone who has been involved with Jaguar for more than 25 years, I have witnessed at close quarters the missed opportunity that Ford had to turn Jaguar into a successful brand like Audi or BMW. Instead, a handful of private equity funds are competing to buy Jaguar alongside Land Rover. Some of these bidders are fronted by the very senior Ford executives who got it wrong with Jaguar in the first place! Crazy.

My Chablis-driven, as well as non-Chablis driven, view is that the management made three critical mistakes with Jaguar:

1. No diesel engines added to the range until the end of 2003 – can you believe it? The majority of executive saloons sold are diesel. Jaguar therefore excluded itself from 75 per cent of the market sector by not having an oil burner.

2. The axing of the F-Type Jaguar Sports car. This could have been a Porsche Boxster/BMW M3-level car that would have added much needed youth appeal, while shrugging off its old pipe and slippers XJ image.

3. Taking the brand down to the BMW 3 Series size, while only offering a four-door X-Type. Experience across most manufacturers shows that the coupe should be launched first to promote appeal.

Ironically, the new Jaguar XF that replaces the S-Type looks like the ground-breaking design that will give Jaguar another chance. This is its first sector-topping product for 40 years since the XJ launch, and the potential kick-start for the brand should enable Ford to add some value to the final sale price.

As Ford continues to sell off “non-core” businesses and brands, a lesson can be learned from the Japanese, in particular Toyota. Their “long-termism” – which involves ensuring employees and management stay with the company long-term, working towards a long-term vision that insiders suggest is around 20 years – has made them the most successful global car manufacturer. Their foresight and financial commitment has led to the commercial success of their hybrids ten years after the launch of the Prius.

You’d never say the French were particular “long–termists”, but they, too, seem to have mastered something the British have failed at.