Things are finally happening for Jaguar. Set to become an all-electric brand by 2025, newly-minted CEO Thierry Bollore has further embarked on a somewhat controversial strategy to turn Jaguar into an ultra-luxury brand on par with Bentley and Rolls-Royce. This means a drastic reduction in SUVs, currently the main profit source. Dealerships are understandably concerned but remain cautiously optimistic. But some of Jaguar's recent misfortunes cannot be blamed entirely on a lack of German brand-rivaling product, but rather build quality. The first step to solving any problem is acknowledging the problem.

Automotive News Europe reports Bollore is fully aware of the issue and further admits this has cost Jaguar more than 100,000 sales.

"The dissatisfaction of our customers was really detrimental to our natural volume. The missed opportunities today are massive," he said. He pointed out a recent J.D. Power owner survey that placed the brand near the bottom. Jaguar's history with control quality dates back several years. Prior to Tata purchasing the brand and forming Jaguar Land Rover in 2008, Jaguar was owned by Ford whose own attempts failed to fix things. This not only continued once Tata took over but also at the joint venture with China's Chery Automotive at a factory in eastern China.

From 2015 to 2017, the Jaguar XE, XEL (a China-only stretched version), the E-Pace, and the Land Rover Evoque and Discovery suffered from poor build quality.

A total of 13 recalls were issued involving over 106,000 vehicles in 2017 alone and local buyers, who thought they were buying into a luxury brand, began protesting. It was a deeply embarrassing situation for Jaguar. The good news is changes were initiated and the company claims the 2020 model year will be Jaguar's best for the last three years. Reducing warranty costs is critical as well. The 100,000 sales Bollore says were lost would have made a significant difference to profitability.

Last year, JLR's global sales dropped 24 percent to about 426,000 vehicles. Just 102,494 were Jaguars, marking a 37 percent decrease. Jaguar certainly has global recognition but luxury buyers expect more. They want quality and it's now up to Jaguar to deliver, or else.