Ford Motor Co.'s luxury unit Jaguar plans to consolidate its U.S. dealerships with those of Ford unit Land Rover, as the British brands fight to compete more effectively in the U.S. with luxury leaders BMW, Mercedes and Lexus, according to a Wall Street Journal story by Norihiko Shirouzu.
Mike O'Driscoll, the Ford executive who manages Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin in North America, said the company plans to combine some 150 Jaguar dealers and 140 Land Rover retailers in the U.S. into 200 stores.
Ford's strategy is to create a strong alternative to BMW out of its three British brands.
About 40 of the 200 Jaguar-Land Rover dealers will likely carry Aston Martin as an additional brand, according to O'Driscoll.
Selling more vehicles through fewer outlets
would help improve dealer profits and give the brands more leverage with retailers. O'Driscoll isn't talking about profit targets but noted that Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin will likely sell 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. this year, up from 72,000 vehicles last year and 45,000 vehicles in 1998. By comparison, BMW sold 213,127 cars and SUVs in the U.S. last year.
