Land Rover Sales Figures 2018

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Originally Posted by weeds

I think we get your view on defenders.....

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Great. I know you love yours too [thumbsupbig] Have you driven a 70 series yet?

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Originally Posted by Zeros

Great. I know you love yours too [thumbsupbig] Have you driven a 70 series yet?

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Er would say I love mine it suits us for now......I’m not you normal rivet counter with blinkers on.

No need to drive a 70 series.....a drive wouldn’t influence my decision.

Think I’ve mentioned before, the last car I purchased new the salesman couldn’t believe his ears I refused a test drive. From memory my bride test drove our current defer, my previous defer my dad went and had a look to purely make sure the car existed and don’t recall him driving it, I paid for it than flew 700km grabbed the keys and drove home.

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Originally Posted by weeds

From memory my bride test drove our current defer, my previous defer my dad went and had a look to purely make sure the car existed and don’t recall him driving it, I paid for it than flew 700km grabbed the keys and drove home.

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Lol done that a few times..."does it drive?" "Yeah it drives" "no worries I'll test drive it on the way home". Gets halfway down the western freeway and the brakes disappear gotta love falcons...

No test drive isnt for me even if paying by personal cheque on a saturday afternoon.

From the reports i have read the defender will use an existing alloy monocoque, for good or bad. So it wont even be like a D4.

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Originally Posted by Zeros

Yes they JLR need to make vehicles that appeal to diverse buyers.
...instead they have made all their vehicles the same, appealing only to the wealthy.
They need to make them appeal to large market sectors that want to buy them not niche markets (Defender buyers).

No they shouldn’t have kept making Defender the old Handbuilt way.
...instead they should have begun the redesign of Defender much earlier and with more conviction about it’s integrity and importance.
Too late for that, the horse has bolted

JLR’s stubbornness has only increased of late and it reminds me of Brexit (navel gazing).
You'd need to explain that comment, I don't understand how they are being stubborn

Anyone who thinks JLR have made good commercial design decisions recently only needs to look at Land Rover at bottom of the sales tables to realise they haven’t.
How big are they compared to the companies you're comparing them to ?
BMW dumped them then Ford dumped them at least under Tata they have grown.

JLR have missed the boat in the ute/dualcab market, they’ve dropped the ball in the basic / durable wagon market and they’ve allowed their credibility as a 4x4 leader to wither on the yuppie Toorak tractor luxury saloon vine.
When did they last have a big foothold in this market ? Series III ?

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Originally Posted by DiscoClax

In the last seven years LR have increased their global sales five-fold. They now pump out about a half million LRs a year. Work out the average profit on each and then multiply by 500,000. Then bank that annually. 'nuff said.
That's a very simplistic view.
Factor in marketing, promotions, R&D developing new models, upgrading existing models, moving production of IC vehicles, developing electric vehicles, setting Solihull up to produce electric vehicles etc. etc. etc.. There's a fair few bills to pay......
They also have to show a profit (return on investment) otherwise they are not viable.

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The new Defender is unlikely to be what 'enthusiasts' want but we are not their target market and haven't been for some time.

Time to take off the rose tinted spectacles and realise that they have taken a different approach to the market and they are successful. Yes, they could have stayed with their heritage, and moved/stayed in different market sectors but they didn't.

Whatever we discuss here won't change anything so it really is a case of wait & see.
Personally I'm not even in their target market, my daily driver is a Ford (servicing/maintenance is a fraction of LR costs) and I don't need 4WD for 98% of my driving.


Colin

Note that I didn't say that money would stay in the bank. More intimating that they can then draw on that (huge) cashflow to fund new models, updates, promotions, facilities, etc, etc. I know that better than most as I work in the "engine room" of a major global manufacturer. The true costs associated with the simplest change would make your mind boggle. Especially when multiplied by several plants across the globe. Bureaucracy...

Whatever they've done with the new Defo is locked in and done and dusted. We'll find out soon enough and it'll suit some and not suit others. From what I've seen it'll likely suit D4 owners looking for an update, not existing Defo owners, nor D5 owners. Simple body on frame is not something in the LR stable anymore.

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Originally Posted by gromit

The new Defender is unlikely to be what 'enthusiasts' want but we are not their target market and haven't been for some time.

Time to take off the rose tinted spectacles and realise that they have taken a different approach to the market and they are successful. Yes, they could have stayed with their heritage, and moved/stayed in different market sectors but they didn't.

Whatever we discuss here won't change anything so it really is a case of wait & see.
Personally I'm not even in their target market, my daily driver is a Ford (servicing/maintenance is a fraction of LR costs) and I don't need 4WD for 98% of my driving.


Colin

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Yep, and I reckon they should drop the defender name.....

plenty seem to link the series and defenders as continuous production keeping heritage, design etc etc....I don’t. The change from leaf to coil certainly separates the two as totally different cars.

It seems from the reports the new Defender will be built on an existing alloy chassis similar to the D4, use existing engines, have Terrain Response and similar systems, have a fairly square shape, and come in several body shapes. That all sounds good to me.

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Originally Posted by DiscoClax

Note that I didn't say that money would stay in the bank. More intimating that they can then draw on that (huge) cashflow to fund new models, updates, promotions, facilities, etc, etc. I know that better than most as I work in the "engine room" of a major global manufacturer. The true costs associated with the simplest change would make your mind boggle. Especially when multiplied by several plants across the globe. Bureaucracy...

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Fair enough.
I'm dealing with a major global manufacturer in Campbellfield (unfortunately not building locally any more) and I hear a few stories.
How much did Ford pay for Land Rover ? And then how much did they sell it for ?!


Colin

I think that was "a lot" and "not much" respectively... After fixing the supplier base with a blunt object, and sinking mega-bucks in.

I know that OEM well. They fund my LR habit...