“People tell us they drive a Range Rover, not a Land Rover.”
A storied old name will be shrinking soon. The vehicles aren’t going anywhere — just the name. Jaguar Land Rover Chief Creative Officer Gerry McGovern tells Motor Trend the company is deemphasizing the Land Rover name because customers already have.
Land Rover Badge Not Going Away
“The reality is Range Rover is already a brand,” he explains. “So is Defender. We love the Land Rover name, but it doesn’t have as much equity as Range Rover, and Defender is rising fast.”
McGovern’s comments were initially widely misinterpreted to suggest that the Land Rover name was disappearing. It’s not. A company spokesperson tells Car and Driver, “We are not losing the Land Rover name; its spirit is — and will continue to be — a crucial part of our DNA.”
But Dealerships Are Changing
Instead, the company (which now calls itself “JLR”) now conceives of itself as a “House of Brands.” Those brands are Jaguar, Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery. The Land Rover name will continue to appear on SUVs from the latter three. But it will be used as a “trust mark” on vehicles sold under the Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender names.
Trade publication Automotive News says the company will “repurpose its showrooms to incorporate the new brands, with some selling all four and others focusing more tightly on a reduced number.”
Each will get a distinct identity, with “Range Rover taking the lead on luxury, Discovery focusing on families, and Defender drawing on its off-road roots to major in durability.”
So, no more awkward car names like Land Rover Range Rover Velar.
Six-Figure Electric Jag Coming Next
Jaguar, Motor Trend says, will be “reinvented as a high-end EV [electric vehicle] luxury brand.” Its first new product, Car and Driver says, will be “an electric four-door grand-tourer built on a bespoke platform.”
The company says it will be the most powerful Jaguar ever made. The magazine says JLR is aiming for a 6-figure price tag and a range of 430 miles, though it doesn’t specify whether that range figure will come using looser European or more strict American testing.
