Manufacturing used to be about making stuff, now it is more about making dreams.
One might think Jaguar Land Rover had enough to think about with Chinese slowdowns and new plants in far flung parts of the world.
Apparently not, with plans afoot to buy the Silverstone racing circuit.
But the truth is without lavish but well-thought-out investment in a brand which exudes British quality, the car giant’s global rise would be cut short.
To be a great business, you can’t think about now – you need to be shaping the future.
This is why investing in a race circuit which has been struggling financially – on the face of it a financial gamble – is another smart move, showing why under Indian parent firm Tata Motors JLR is going places.
Jaguar Land Rover must transcend manufacturing – it needs to be globally desirable in the most cyclical of industries.
But it is best placed to profit from the heritage and prestige associated with Silverstone, because nobody sells Britishness better than the Indians.
JLR has secured major growth is centred on rising demand – largely in emerging economies like China and the Middle East – because of sharp moves like this.
While the deal is still to be rubber stamped, the offer of an experience driving Jaguars and Land Rovers in one of the world’s most famous and historic racing circuits will be a major draw.
Throw in a five-star hotel and a museum or two and you are flying.
The upshot will be yet more demand, one hopes, and another victory in the battle to meet its insatiable need for new staff and address an engineering shortage which had threatened to hold it back.
