JLR drops Land Rover after 75 years, switches to House of Brands
By Felicia Nwosu
As part of its strategic move for a change and to focus on four brands in the future, British car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has dropped the iconic and prestigious popular Land Rover brand name after 75 years and switched to ‘House of Brands’ with plans to focus on Jaguar, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery as sub-brands which serves as part of its new House of Brands retail and marketing strategy. This will translate it to officially switch its official company branding to ‘JLR’, in order to remove reference to Land Rover, as part of a move which will spark corporate identity changes in dealerships across the UK.
According to JLR, the new idea to move to a House of Brands approach, is to amplify the unique character of each of its brands Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar and also to accelerate the delivery of the company’s vision, which is to become proud creators of the world’s most desirable modern luxury automotive brands for the most discerning clients. It also stated that Jaguar Land Rover will also be known as ‘JLR’ as it removes Land Rover from its title as part of a major reboot by the automotive giant. The auto hub also reassured its customers that it is not jettisoning or ditching their heritage completely, with optimism that the Land Rover name will not die amid JLR’s rebranding but that Defender and Discovery nameplates will come to the forefront as part of the British automaker’s new branding strategy.
“We want to reassure clients that Land Rover will remain the trust mark that underpins the world-leading capability offered across Range Rover, Defender and Discovery vehicles, building on 75 years of technological and engineering expertise. ‘As a House of Brands, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar now step forward as individual marques, projecting their individual purpose, desirability, and personality. Under this approach, we will amplify the unique character of each of the brands, accelerating the delivery of our vision to be the “proud creators of modern luxury.
It also disclosed that Range Rover and Jaguar are also included in this four-pronged approach, which is part of what JLR is calling its “House of Brands” strategy.
“The goal of this initiative is said to help make each brand more distinctive. So don’t expect to see any more models using the clunky Land Rover Range Rover nomenclature.
Gerry McGovern, JLR chief creative officer, while shedding more light on the dramatic change, said that current buyers related to other brand names rather than Land Rover when describing what they drive.
“The reality is Range Rover is a brand and so is Defender. People tell us they drive a Range Rover, not a Land Rover. In luxury, you need absolute clarity. Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography doesn’t give it. “Somewhat confusingly, a small Land Rover badge will appear on selected vehicles inside and out to denote a “trust mark. We love the Land Rover name, but it doesn’t have as much equity as Range Rover and Defender is rising fast.
The global auto company reaffirmed that JLR has opted to split itself into four units, with JLR as the holding company, and future off-road flagships are no longer to be branded as Land Rovers. This it explained that instead, the new marques will be the range-topping Range Rover, the off-road Defender, the Discovery family brand and Jaguar which is jettisoning its entire model line-up and starting all over
Land Rover introduced the Series I at the Amsterdam Motor Show back in 1948 and the rugged off-roader has become a byword all over the world for all-wheel-drive vehicles.
The British automaker’s rebranding is also part of a larger plan that includes making its Halewood plant in the U.K. an all-electric production factory as well as introducing its new medium-sized EV SUV platform, which will be based on the company’s Electrified Modular Platform (EMA).
JLR maintained that, futuristically, it will start accepting pre-orders for the upcoming electric Range Rover, which is slated to launch in 2025. This in addition to its new EVs, as the leading JLR will continue to offer gas-burning and hybrid models.
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