Where do motoring journo's get off?

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Originally Posted by jon3950

Very much chicken and egg, but you can only do so much with limited resources. I'm not saying JLR are hard up, they are quite profitable now, but they are still a very small player compared to the likes of Toyota.

It is a shame their market was squandered in the Leyland years, they are still recovering from it. What it has made them though is a very succesful low volume manufacturer. To be successful as a low volume manufacturer you have to concentrate on the high end vehicles with good margins. It was the Range Rover that got them through that disastrous period and it is now vehicles like Evoque and RRS which are helping them re-build.

Unfortunately to build the type of vehicle with the service network we want they really need to become a high volume manufacturer. The Defender was never going to be that vehicle in the 21st century - simply too expensive to make. Increasing volume will mean more production going offshore, which we all seem to dislike. Clearly they are heading in this direction with the factory in China and now looking to Eastern Europe. This is a good thing for the brand.

I understand all your concern about how their image appears to be changing but I don't think its as bad as you think. Sure they have been concentrating on the high end stuff but off-road ability has been front and centre in every new model. With the limited resources they have for product development they have had to concentrate on developing one model at a time and have a strategy in place for the order in which market segments are addressed to maximise the return.

The new Defender is next and is a crucial model for LR - it is their halo model and they know it. From what I have read and learnt about how they are developing their manufacturing processes I think the new Defender is being taken very seriously. Off-road ability will be a given, but I think it will be a game changer in other areas, particularly in environmental friendliness (this is a good thing) which will set LR up well for the future.

Cheers,
Jon

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Good stuff Jon, I hope you're right. I really hope the new Defender isn't trying to be everything to all people. Two new work trucks are what's needed IMO. A slightly scaled up in size Defender with exactly the same proportions and a mid sized new model.

We need a motoring writer with some clout to investigate further and also to delineate the real world needs vs spin. Won't hold my breath.
Cheers

I hope I'm right too. A couple of other observations I might add:

Range Rover was initially driven upmarket by the attempt to cater to the US market. However the push to concentrate solely on upmarket vehicles was instigated by Ford, who had a definate view of how Land Rover should sit in their Premier Automotive Group. They would have been very happy for Defender to just go away so they could focus on being a premium brand.

Tata's purchase has changed this. To a large degree Tata have given both Jaguar and Land Rover free reign to develop the vehicles they want to and I think this has saved both marques from ruin.

The other thing is you may be surprised how much enthusiasm there is within Land Rover for Defender, even in Australia, despite it being a poor seller.

If you are interested in reading about Land Rover's recent history and what has influenced them in developing the vehicles they have, I can recommend a couple of books:

Jewels In The Crown: How Tata of India Transformed Britain's Jaguar and Land Rover by Ray Hutton

The Rover Group: Company and Cars 1986-2000 by Mike Gould

Both are very interesting reading.

Cheers,
Jon