JLR drops 鈥楲and Rover鈥 brand, announces EV GT car in 拢15bn investment strategy
April 20, 2023 by Hugo Griffiths
Car changing is a big deal
Firm sets out financial and brand strategy for the next five years; new EV to be built in Solihull
The firm formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover has rebranded simply as 鈥楯LR鈥 and will focus on two brands and two nameplates in its new five-year strategy.
Gone is the Land Rover name in any standalone capacity, with the company saying it will instead focus on Range Rover and Jaguar, as well as the Defender and Discovery names, under a new 鈥榟ouse of brands鈥 strategy.
鈥淲e love Land Rover, but there isn鈥檛 as much equity as Range Rover鈥 said JLR鈥檚 chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern, explaining: 鈥淭he reality is Range Rover is a brand and so is Defender鈥ustomers say they own a Range Rover. In luxury, you need absolute clarity.鈥
The well-recognised Land Rover badge, which has been in existence for 75 years, will not be dispensed with entirely, JLR says, and will remain as a 鈥渢rust mark鈥 on vehicles rather than being a brand in its own right.
Aside from naming conventions, JLR has set out a 拢15 billion UK investment strategy that will see a new four-door, 430-mile-range electric Jaguar GT car built at the firm鈥檚 Solihull plant near Birmingham, and go on sale in 2024 ahead of first deliveries in 2025. This will be the 鈥渇irst of three reimagined modern luxury Jaguars鈥, while orders for an all-electric version of the flagship Range Rover will open later this year.
Jaguar was, aside from Tesla, the first premium manufacturer to offer an all-electric car, but while the I-Pace was well-received by critics, it has not been the sales success the firm had hoped for, while its assembly was outsourced to Austrian firm Magna Steyr, rather than being built in-house.
In addition to the new GT car, part of JLR鈥檚 拢15-billion investment will be put to use increasing its 鈥渋ndustrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, AI [artificial intelligence] and digital technologies鈥.