Ford is combining its three British brands – Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover – in the United States in a bid to compete with its Japanese and German rivals.
Ford is combining its three British brands – Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover – in the United States in a bid to compete with its Japanese and German rivals.
The three brands will be part of a single organisation within the Premier Automotive Group (PAG), to help make dealers more competitive. This will only be in the United States.
The new structure will be called Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover North America and will be headed by Mike O’Driscoll, who was president of Jaguar North America. The reorganisation will take effect from September 1, with the headquarters moving to Irvine, California. O’Driscoll will report to the PAG executives in charge of each brand.
Each dealer will now be able to raise revenues and cut costs as they share resources and are likely to sell more vehicles, with more brands on offer. The process has already started with some of the dealers already offering the three PAG brands. A new dealer agreement to meet the tough American franchise laws is currently being discussed.
“We’re going to reach a critical mass that will allow us and our dealers to challenge our competitors in a way we can’t right now,” said O’Driscoll.
Vic Doolan, executive director of North American marketing and distribution for PAG, said the British brands logically belong together.
“Within the PAG,” Doolan said, “you can see three clear businesses: Lincoln Mercury, the American business; Volvo, the Swedish business; and the British brands.”
The other PAG brands, Volvo and Lincoln, are not part of this single structure. But will also benefit from a new structure that provides shared services that include information technology and dealer development. This will help all the brands cut costs.