Jaguar was originally founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company, by William Lyons and William Walmsey, who were motorcycle enthusiasts. The name first appeared on a 2.5 liter saloon in 1935, but after World War II the entire company took over the name because the initials SS reminded people of Nazi Germany.

In the 1950's Jaguar became well known for a series of stylish sports cars and elegant luxury saloons. The company bought the Daimler car company ((no relation to Daimler-Benz) from the Birmingham Small Arms Company in 1960, and used Daimler as the brand for their most luxurious saloons from the late 60s on.

A merger with the British Motor Corporation, owner of the Austin-Morris, in 1966 resulted in British Motor Holdings, which merged with Leyland and Rover and became British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968, but financial difficulties led to effective nationalization of the company in 1975, and then it became British Leyland, Ltd.

Jaguar was separated again in 1984, taking the Vanden Plas name with it, and was subsequently taken over by Ford around 1989. In 1999 it joined Aston Marton, Volvo and Land Rover (added in 2001) as part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, though it has never earned a profit for the Dearborn-based Ford.

While Jaguar did have a reputation for being unreliable during the 1970s and 80s, it has improved markedly under Ford's umbrella, surpassing Audi and Mercedes-Benz by coming in at number 7 out of 30 in a J.D. Power survey. The s-type model came in at number nine out of 105 in the same survey, the 242-million mile road test.

Today, Jaguar continues to live up to the original vision held by Walmsey and Lyons - to give drivers a unique blend of style, luxury and performance.