Jaguar is a name that is often heard in various Punjabi songs. Presently, it may not sound like a fresh and revolutionary name, but when it was first established, it was seen as a revolution in the sports car and sedan industry. And today, it is a sign of luxury particularly in India. The story of the brand name is a very interesting one.
Birth of Jaguar
Billy Lyons and William Walmsley were neighbors living in the Blackpool area in the United Kingdom. They were the co-founders of the globally well-known brand that we today call Jaguar. But when they first founded the company, it was called Swallow Sidecar Company. This is because at that time they were not manufacturing the sports car but they were into the motorcycle sidecar business.
The sidecars they manufactured were an instant hit in the market of the UK. This was because of the sleek and aerodynamic design that their sidecars featured. Since their first idea was an instant hit, Lyons and Walmsley started brainstorming on new ideas that they could hit the market with. Since Lyons was the chief designer of all their sidecar models, he decided to step up the game and start manufacturing sports cars. Sports cars were called sports salon cars at that time i.e. in the 1930s.
And that is how today's luxury brand Jaguar was born.
Stepping Up the Game
After Lyons decided to step up the game, both the partners worked on the new business model together. But they soon realized that the old name of Swallow Sidecar Company won't be of much good. And hence, they started brainstorming on the new name for their upcoming sports car model. In 1932, they decided to give up the rather long name Swallow Sidecar Company and stick to the acronym SS.
Later that year, Lyons and Walmsley Introduced SS1 in the market which became the first sports car to be ever manufactured. Due to the innovative design, SS1 became a hot seller in the UK market just like their sidecar. As the company gained huge popularity, the partners wanted to switch the name to something that would reflect their sports cars in a very accurate and clean manner.
The Story Behind the Name Jaguar
In 1935, Lyons and Walmsley launched a new model of their sports car which was called Jaguar. But at this time, Jaguar was not the official name of the company but it was the name of just one model which they manufactured. That year, the model named Jaguar became the best seller. and that was when they both realized that the name was like a golden egg for them.
A few years passed by, and World War II broke out across entire Europe. It was this time that the cars with the logo of SS became like a symbol of Adolf Hitler’s security force. During that time, the two partners of SS realized that their model name Jaguar was their first major breakthrough. they mutually decided to completely drop the name am SS and go by the name Jaguar.
Ownership of Jaguar
Over the years, Jaguar had been owned by several big names in the automobile industry. In 1965, Jaguar merged with British Motor Corporation to form The British Motor Corporation Limited. This was majorly taken because of the lack of an heir.
In 1968, The British Motor Corporation Limited was pushed by the government to enter into a new merger with Leyland Bus and Truck. the result was not favorable for Jaguar and so, they decided to walk out. For several upcoming years, Jaguar remained to be an independent company in the share market.
In 1989, Ford offered to buy the shares of Jaguar and presented the offer in front of the holders in the US and the UK. But it was not until 1999 that Jaguar became a part of Ford. It owned Jaguar for several years and finally in 2007 announced that it was planning on selling the sports car brand.
In March 2008, Ford Made a formal announcement stating that it had sold Jaguar and Land Rover operations to the Tata Motors of India. Soon after that, Tata Motors of India announced that Jaguar Land Rover was to be established as a British established subsidiary of the company. Since then, Jaguar has been a part of Tata Motors of India.
If you wish to know further details on the ownership of Jaguar, check out this amazing blog post on Who Own Jaguar
Conclusion
Many of the luxury brands in the world have really interesting stories about their birth or their name, and Jaguar is one of them. It is really interesting to know that the current luxury sports car brand it was initially started out as a motorcycle sidecar company. this proves that with intensive brainstorming, creativity, and innovation even small companies can reach the sky over a period of time just like Swallow Sidecars Company did.
For the brands that are well known globally, it is a bit tedious to maintain a squeaky clean image and to keep up with the competition. apart from this, the lack of innovation is also another reason why global giants decline over time.
Check out this fantastic article on the decline of Victoria’s Secret
Written By - Khushi Prajapati
Edited By - Kashish Chadha
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