Jaguar is looking to forge stronger ties in tennis after striking a deal to be the official car supplier to Wimbledon. The British car maker has a commercial partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which will see it supply 170 luxury and high-performance vehicles to the London venue throughout the two-week tennis tournament. Jaguar ambassador and Chelsea Manager José Mourinho took part in a short video unveiling the deal that could last up to five years. Jaguar already has a footprint in tennis, courtesy of deals with the Lawn Tennis Association and David Lloyd tennis centers. Jaguar Land Rover U.K. Marketing Dir Laura Schwab said that the company is looking to cement its position in tennis with further deals in the future. She said, “It [Wimbledon] does seem like an obvious fit for us. Wimbledon is a British icon which is recognized globally as the pinnacle of international sport. There’s no other event like it. What we are looking at doing is deepening what we do with David Lloyd and then clearly CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) will be critical for us.”
NOT PLANNING CUTS: Schwab said that the move to invest more in tennis would not come at the expense of other sports, such as its sponsorship of cycling’s Team Sky and the Invictus Games, the int'l sporting event for wounded servicemen and women fronted by Prince Harry. Schwab said, “I really think for us, it’s not about more sports, it’s about creating lots of depth around the sponsorships we have.”
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
