The company responsible for enthusiast icons and fashion statements alike, Jaguar Land Rover, is undergoing a transformation. And it’s not the same electrification transformation the rest of the industry is undergoing.
No, Jaguar Land Rover is technically no more, as it’s renaming itself to simply JLR. The move comes alongside the company deciding to kill off the overarching Land Rover brand for its SUVs, instead selling cars as brands under the Range Rover, Discovery, Defender and Jaguar names.
JLR will become a “house of brands” according to the company’s Chief Creative Officer Gerry McGovern, who spoke to Autocar in the UK on the changes.
He said the model names and the Range Rover sub-brand have become bigger than the Land Rover name, though the Land Rover badge will stick around as a “trust mark”.
“The reality is Range Rover is a brand and so is Defender,” said McGovern. “Customers say they own a Range Rover. In luxury, you need absolute clarity. ‘Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography’ doesn’t give it.
“We love Land Rover, but there isn’t as much equity as Range Rover, and Defender is increasing massively.”
The company will move to go electric over time, with Jaguar taking the lead.
“Electrification is central to this strategy and before the end of the decade our Range Rover, Discovery, Defender collections will each have a pure electric model, while Jaguar will be entirely electric,” said a JLR statement.
CEO Adrian Mardell said the Jaguar brand will make a comeback after a “quiet” period, telling Autocar the Jaguar rebirth is “very personal” to him as he joined the brand originally over three decades ago.
“The Jaguar of 32 years ago is where we’re going back to and the right place for us to be.”
JLR is set to invest £15 billion (AU$27,795,856,000) over five years into the company’s “industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, AI and digital technologies and people skills”.
Keyword: But what does it stand for? Land Rover brand axed as Jaguar Land Rover renamed 'JLR' to launch Range Rover, Discovery, Defender and Jaguar as individual brands