JLR Canada chief talks about the company’s new product onslaught and why quality isn’t just about the vehicle, it’s about the entire ownership experience
Jaguar XE World Premier at Earls Court London
Canadian Auto Dealer traveled to Jaguar Land Rover Canada’s headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario for a one-on-one interview with the company’s President Lindsay Duffield. Here’s part of the conversation with our columnist and automotive journalist Petrina Gentile.
PG: Is Tata’s commitment to Jaguar Land Rover still going strong?
LD: We’ve had tremendous support from our parent. When you look at our products, like the Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport, the Evoque and all the new products that have been coming out, it’s been phenomenally successful. As we know, the heart and soul of this industry is product. That’s where Tata has been so supportive — to let the company continue to invest in bringing new products. We’ll have a major product coming about every six months. It’s not going to get any quieter around Jaguar Land Rover.
PG: Luxury auto sales had a banner year in 2013 — what do you foresee for 2014 and beyond?
Lindsay Duffield
LD: All the indications point to the luxury market continuing to grow. At Jaguar Land Rover, we’re growing in different segments; we’re entering segments we’ve never been in before and returning to segments we haven’t been in for a long time. Based on what we’re seeing, we will continue to see the luxury segment increase over the next few years. It’s always good to win a slice of market share from our competitors, but it’s always a little easier when the pie is getting larger. In Canada, it’s looking like we can grow significantly over the next five to six years in the luxury segment.
PG: What’s your piece of the pie?
LD: At least, one more than we sold last year. We never talk about future volumes. But I think when you look at the kind of growth rates we’ve had in the last few years we’re hopefully optimistic we can continue on that path for a number of years because of the products and the strength of our retail network today. We’re pretty excited. But this is a race. We’ve got really tough competition. We can’t take anything for granted.
PG: Quality has improved significantly, especially at Jaguar. In the latest J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, Jaguar ranked way above industry average. What do you owe that success to?
LD: We’ve had some legacy issues with some of our products from many, many years ago. But it shows you how long it takes to get away from that. When you look at the facts today, when you look at the number and quality of products that we’ve brought to market in the last few years, I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re holding our own and then some from a quality perspective in the luxury segment. The fit, finish, quality and luxury — everything is there including the performance of our cars. That’s the feedback I’m getting from our retailers and our customers.
PG: What does the dealership of the future look like — is it a traditional brick and mortar shop or a virtual car lot?
LD: It’s hard to ship a car by FedEx. I don’t knowif we’ll solve that as long as we have retailer networks for delivering and servicing cars. What we’re seeing is that for premium products you need a premium facility — that is key. We’re also seeing that customers are doing a lot more research ahead of time so even though showroom traffic is down, the closing rate is going up. In addition to the new facilities, new products and new images for both Jaguar and Land Rover, we’ve been investing tremendously in process, training, and technology because we know that’s going to be key to delivering that experience with the growing volume of products being introduced.
At the end of the day, it’s the experience. In this Internet and Twitter age a great experience in Regina is known around the world and a bad experience in Toronto, Montreal, or Shanghai, China is known around the world, too. Having consistently premium experiences at every touch point is key. That’s a great focus for the next few years that we’ll be working on with our retailers. They’re up to the challenge. Our retailers are very, very excited. Most manufacturers and brands go through some good times and bad times. We’ve had our share of both, but now we’re certainly on a phenomenal climb with our products and retailers are stepping up to invest in our facilities, processes, and people to really grow the Jaguar Land Rover business in Canada.
