Dr. Nick Barter, Director, Product Development for Jaguar.
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Dr. Nick Barter is Jaguar's Director, Product Development. In that role, he is well aware of the needs of customers in the more than 60 countries into which Jaguar sells, and of the legislative and design requirements that have to be met. But in a sense, that aspect of his job is not a difficult one. "Although our customers across the world do vary a lot in what they expect, there is a common core in those expectations that is consistent because Jaguars have always been world cars. Also, we are a relatively small manufacturer; we cannot differentiate greatly between markets."
Jaguar's new S-type is more international in its design and engineering than any previous car from the company. As part of Ford, Jaguar was able to draw on its owner's design and engineering facilities. So it worked with Lincoln on platform development, although Jaguar insists that its input has created a chassis that is very much in the British company's tradition and is not an international "fudge." Similarly, the V6 engine for the S-type, built at a Ford plant in the U.S., has the mechanical elements necessary to conform to the expectations of Jaguar owners in all its markets, according to the company. Jaguar has had to ensure that its bilateral chassis and engine projects would deliver products consistent with the company's core values.
Like other low-volume specialist manufacturers (total production last year did top 50,000, but it is a figure that is rising rapidly and may reach 90,000 next year with the recent addition of the S-type, and 200,000 with arrival of the smaller X400 planned for year 2001) Jaguar's strength in meeting international requirements is its luxury/sporty image. So although the company does meet some specific national or regional customer expectations, such as cupholders for cars sold in North America and television systems for the Asian market, where buyers are often technophiles, generally speaking a Jaguar is much the same car the world over.
"We have to be careful to retain that," said Dr. Barter. "Our cars are bought because they are British Jaguars. If we changed elements of any of our models we might also change their essence. So we resist changes for specific markets but not all, including the need for cupholders! There are, however, some things that need to be varied to meet local legal requirements. A small but important example concerns the remote key entry fob, which in Japan must have a much shorter range than in many countries because radio frequencies are controlled differently. "Dr. Barter said the company's toughest markets are Germany, Japan, and North America: "Germany is a particular case because cars are driven very fast on the autobahn. Our products are capable of very high speeds (around 245 km/h (155 mph)) but most of our customers do not use that performance. In Germany, they do — so a very high level of straight line stability for good autobahn running is essential." But that does not mean that Jaguar will vary chassis dynamics for different markets, he added although tire type may vary; in North America, Z-rated tires for very high speeds would not usually be fitted.
In Japan, customers are very aware of any blemishes on a car's exterior or interior: "So we used to do a huge amount of pre-delivery inspection. Customers for whom a very good preparation job is carried out tend to be very quiet. Today, very little warranty work is needed in Japan. Although we used to prepare cars more rigorously for Japan, with the rise in our quality standards in recent years that extra effort is no longer necessary; in eight years, we have moved from 33rd place to fourth place in the J.D. Power ratings.
"There is some cross-linking between customer expectations in various countries. In North America, the customer focus is more on features: a compass, an exterior temperature gauge. It is also important how doors close and how they sound. But that would also apply to many other markets."
Who buys a Jaguar, and why, must also be considered by the company's designers. In the UK, most Jaguars—possibly over 90%—are bought with company rather than private money. In the U.S. the reverse is the case, and in the rest of the world it is a mix, but with private ownership predominating. In the UK and Continental Europe, Jaguars are generally used as "working" vehicles, perhaps one of two cars owned or used by a family. "In the U.S. a Jaguar buyer will probably own several cars. So if trunk space is at a premium then another vehicle might be used for a specific trip. But that is not a problem." Trunk space has to be something of a compromise when catering for so many markets.
There is, of course, no compromise when it comes to emissions and crashworthiness: "Because we do a 'world car' we give everyone in the 60-plus countries in which we sell our products the benefits of the highest standards." It means that every Jaguar meets the legislative demands of both the U.S. and Europe.
"Federal legislation is about straight-ahead barrier impacts; but Europe is about offset barriers. The things you can do to the design and crashworthiness of a vehicle are then in some conflict so it is quite a challenge to meet the highest standards of both, but of course we do. There is no choice. Every country that takes our cars will benefit from these very high levels of safety engineering. Arguably it would be easier to meet the different standards separately but we do a 'world car' so we do both."
In common with many other senior motor industry executives, Dr. Barter has a feeling that harmonization of emissions legislation between the U.S. and Europe is "getting closer," with the likelihood of hardware being standardized. Jaguar does have to engineer its power units to cope with low grades of fuel in some markets, by creating a low octane fuel specification. "Although the emissions situation is easing, that is not the case with crashworthiness; we cope, but it is difficult," Barter said.
Sometimes, a car company will incorporate a facility that is not widely legislatively required. That is the case with Jaguar's new S-type, which has bumpers that sustain impacts up to 5 mph (8 km/h) without causing damage. "We simply feel it is an asset to our customers," said Barter.
For other specification aspects it is necessary to delineate between markets, so there is a manual V6 version of the S-type for markets other than the U.S. where only automatic transmissions (which also have 'manual' J-gate selection) will be available. But the V8 S-type is only built as an auto for all markets. Jaguar is understood to be planning a six cylinder turbodiesel version of the S-type and there are certainly no plans to sell that into the U.S. unless there is a dramatic development in the diesel market in North America. Diesels are very well suited to automatic transmission and Jaguar is believed to be interested in the potential of continuously variable transmission (CVT) although Dr. Barter made no comment on the possibility.
While emissions and crashworthiness requirements will continue to throw up challenges on a global basis, Dr. Barter also expects other demands to be put on designers and engineers, such as the need to integrate increasingly "smart" airbags into future models. But costs must be kept down, he said. "We have to compete across the world with others who face the same difficulties and meet the same legislative demands. The key is to do everything that is needed to be done at the lowest possible price but never compromising quality and durability—they are the entry tickets for any and every market. I am not in the least shamefaced about using the link with Ford to help develop the S-type. It is a British car and has all the things that make it a Jaguar. But without that link the investment would have been considerably higher, as would the price to the customer."
