02 April 2012

Interesting to spend half a day with the senior people at Jaguar Land Rover, driving new product and chatting about the ‘state of the nation’.

The new-found sense of confidence at Gaydon is palpable – not just because Evoque is selling like hot cakes but also because the introduction of the 2.2-litre Jaguar XF at under £30,00 appears to have solved some problems there as well.

It’s not just about the short term though.

UK managing director Jeremy Hicks, six months into his new job, says the commitment from owners Tata to a full cycle of new product is “absolute”. A new, three-storey engineering block has just been built and JLR does not have enough HR staff to handle its current recruitment programme.

And, although Land Rover is on a roll, there’s a refreshingly honest assessment of Jaguar’s current product position and an acknowledgement that the range needs to be expanded. New product is in the pipeline.

Of course, car companies that are doing well often appear confident and open in their relations with the press (to be fair, the same could be said of most large corporate bodies). The first sign of trouble is usually when a firm pulls up the drawbridge and stops talking.

But openness comes from the top.

I am reminded of the contrasting styles of two global automaker bosses at a Geneva Motor Show a couple of years ago. While Rick Wagoner, then head of GM, swept through the hall surrounded by bag-carrying personal assistants and flustered secretaries, Ratan Tata was to be found standing on the edge of his firm’s display area chatting to dealers and the general public.

If I wanted to ask Rick Wagoner about GM, I would have to make an appointment; if I wanted to ask Ratan Tata about JLR, I simply walked up to him.

Now Mr Wagoner has gone – forced out of office when the US government had to rescue his firm – while Mr Tata remains chairman of Tata Group, a business with a global turnover of $83bn. I often wonder who felt most in touch with his customers.

Rupert Saunders

Got a view to share? Email me at rupert@auto-retail.com

Tags: GM, Jaguar Land Rover, open door policy, Ratan Tata, Rick Wagoner