Jaguar Cars Limited is a British luxury car manufacturer famous for its elegantly-styled sports cars and luxury saloons. The company was founded in 1922 by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley, under the name Swallow Sidecar Company (also referred to as SS Cars Ltd). Originally based in Blackpool, it was eventually moved to Conventry, first to Browns Lane and then to Whitley. Since 1989, Jaguar Cars Limited has been owned by Ford and it is currently included in Premier Automotive Group (PAG).
The name Jaguar is pronounced "jag-you-uh" in its native United Kingdom, while North American speakers normally pronounce it "jag wahr". The nickname “Jag” is used all over the world.
Jaguar Cars holds Royal Warrants from Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Charles.
Jaguar company history
As mentioned above, Jaguar can trace its history back to 1922. The SS Jaguar name was first used in 1935 when it was given to a 2.5L saloon. In 1945, the entire company changed its name to Jaguar. During the 1950s, the company achieved great fame and success and in 1960 Jaguar purchased the Daimler car company (not the same as Daimler-Benz). Starting in the late 1960s, Daimler became the brand name for the most luxurious saloons produced by Jaguar. In 1966, Jaguar merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the result was the formation of British Motor Holdings (BMH). After further merges with Rover and Leyland, the company was renamed British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
During the 1970s, the company suffered from a reputation of producing unreliable cars. When Jaguar was purchased by Ford, extensive quality improvements were carried out to remedy the problems and re-establish Jaguar as a brand connected with quality and reliability. Soon, the work began to show drastic results.
During the early 1980s, Jaguar was entered as a separate company on the stock market as a part of the Thatcher era privatisations. In 1989, the Ford Motor Company offered to purchase Jaguar, and the offer was accepted in 1990. Jaguar was therefore removed form the London Stock Exchange listings on 28 February 1990.
Jaguar facilities
Originally based in Blackpool, the company was moved to Coventry in 1928 – a region often referred to as the heart of British motor industry. The first Coventry base was located in Browns Lane, but it was later moved to Whitley. The old Browns Lane facility was open until 2005. Today, the Jaguar cars are assembled at the Castle Bromwich facility in Birmingham and at the Halewood facility in Liverpool. Castle Bromwich makes the Jaguar XJ, XK and S-Type, while the X-Type is made at Halewood.
When Land Rover was purchase by Ford in 2002, Jaguar and Land Rover became strongly associated with each other. In many parts of the world, the Jaguar and Land Rover are now sharing the same network for sales and distribution, including joined dealerships. Some Jaguars and Land Rover models even share the same components, and the production facility in Halewood constructs Jaguar X-Type cars as well as the Freelander 2 from Land Rover.
