In a move which will surely cause a few Britons to weep into their cuppa, corporate overlords at Jaguar Land Rover are majorly shuffling their brand portfolio. In short, the overarching company will go from “Jaguar Land Rover” to simply being called “JLR” – already a popular acronym used by many to describe the organization – while its collection of luxury rides will move to what’s being called a “House of Brands” approach.
As part of an effort to “amplify the unique character” of its vehicles, JLR’s “Reimagine strategy” will see the place organized into four brands: Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Jaguar. Yes, that means the “Land Rover” name seems to be going away.
“The reality is Range Rover is a brand and so is Defender,’” said JLR’s Chief Creative Officer, Professor Gerry McGovern OBE. “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.”
Whilst this is undoubtedly huge news, it does make more than a skiff of sense. Like McGovern says, it was always awkward referring to the brand’s halo SUV as the “Land Rover Range Rover” — a name which was technically correct, but more than a bit cumbersome. The Defender and Discovery models are enormously different from their showroom cousins, such as the Evoque and Velar, so spinning those two off into their own folder is not without logic. It also offers the brand a chance to create entire portfolios based on these two machines, though one could argue that’s already the case with Defender and its 90-110-130 variants.
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It’ll also help give the brands a bit more visibility. You can bet your wellies that some models in the Land Rover family don’t receive the same attention as others; with this plan, marketers are free to shout about the benefits of Defender’s off-road cred without needing to worry about leaving room in the bumf for words about the sleek Velar, for example. There’s also an argument to be made that Range Rover and Defender have massive amounts of brand equity all on their own, with more than a few owners referring to their machines by those nomenclatures without ever uttering the words “Land Rover” at all.
As for the non-SUV-brand in the room, Jaguar, plans are in the works to shuffle that marque to an all-electric lineup, starting with a four-door GT car built in the U.K., with a target on-sale date of 2024 and deliveries beginning 2025. Initial information suggests it will have a power output topping any previous Jaguar, a range somewhere in the neighbourhood of 700 kilometres, and a price tag close to £100,000 (CDN$167,000).
We’ve included a teaser image of a future Jaguar at the top, but don’t read too much into it: the automaker released it with a caveat noting it may “not necessarily show the as-yet-unnamed GT.” More details of the car are planned to be released later this year.
Keyword: Land Rover brand killed off as parent company becomes 'JLR'