Strong leadership could turn Jaguar’s prospects around

Mar 26 2008 by Bill Gleeson, Liverpool Daily Post

HALEWOOD will today pass from Ford ownership to India’s Tata, with hardly a word of protest from the trade unions.

That’s a remarkable thing in its own right.

In fact, the unions positively welcome the deal.

It’s a sign of how far things have come in recent times and the despair and uncertainty people feel about the world-famous brand, which has been through some torrid times recently.

The unions seem to be demonstrating a sense of realism about the future of Jaguar and Land Rover. The fact is Jaguar has been a disaster for Ford. The Detroit company has lost billions on the initial acquisition, subsequent investments and trading losses.

Nor has the group been able to subsidise the losses out of the profits of its volume car production – because there have been none in recent times. Arguably, Ford’s survival now depends on getting rid of it.

Land Rover, which is also being sold to the Indians as part of the same deal, has on the other hand been profitable. In contrast to Jaguar, sales of Land Rovers have risen, markedly so in the US. Yet, if Ford wants to be free of the drain of Jaguar, it has to sell Land Rover too, because their operations are so closely intertwined. The Halewood plant, where the two marques are manufactured on the same production line, is the clearest example of that integration.

Another reason for selling them together is that any buyer of Jaguar would need a sweetener to make the deal palatable.

The only strategic alternative to the sale to be unveiled this afternoon would be closure of all of Jaguar’s plants. What a sad day that would be.

A question that remains to be answered is: Does the Tata deal do any more than postpone such a fateful day? After all, who would want to keep a heavy loss maker going? Surely it’s doubtful that Tata can do what Ford has failed to achieve in more than a decade of Jaguar ownership.

Tata, however, is a strong and well-led company, and may yet surprise us by coming up with imaginative investment plans that can turn Jaguar’s prospects around. Let’s hope so.

THE Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is at it again.

CABE is complaining about the architectural qualities of the King Edward Tower, a 54-storey building planned for the site of the former King Edward pub on the junction of Leeds Street and Old Hall Street.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the architecture of Liverpool was a match for Paris, London or Barcelona? But let’s get real.

Compared to what went before on the King Edward pub site, developer Y1’s King Edward Tower is fantastic. It’s an economically ambitious scheme for a location that a couple of years ago would have considered a drive- through McDonald’s as a massive boost.

It’s not that the planned building is architecturally any worse than those already around it on Princes Dock and Old Hall Street, not to mention the industrial estate behind it.

CABE’s other big point, that the building’s design doesn’t take sufficient account of environmental concerns, is something that ought to be addressed. Disregard for energy consumption is no longer acceptable.

Concerns about whether the fragile housing market can absorb the supply of even more urban living apartments is for the developers to worry about, not the planners.

Let’s hope sense prevails at the forthcoming planning meeting and the tower is recommended for approval.