9:03 am, June 2, 2023
Jaguar Land Rover bosses have confirmed the Land Rover name will still be plastered on the side of its car dealerships – despite being relegated from its brand line-up.
As part of the firm’s ‘Reimagine’ strategy, Jaguar Land Rover has been renamed JLR and the firm is moving towards four brands instead of two.
Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar will take the lead with Land Rover becoming a ‘heritage mark’ for its off-road vehicles.
Yesterday, the manufacturer unveiled a new corporate identity and logo and confirmed the Land Rover name will still be present on cars, its dealerships, websites and social media.
However, in corporate images released at the same time, the Land Rover badge had been relegated to just a small logo at the bottom (above).
In a briefing with Car Dealer yesterday, executives admitted that there was still ‘work to be done’ to explain how the Land Rover name will be used.
They said Land Rover will now be a ‘trust mark’ and a ‘foundation that underpins all the technology found in our cars’.
In a statement released with the new JLR logo (below), the firm said: ‘JLR reaffirmed today that the Land Rover brand will remain a key part of the company’s DNA.
‘Land Rover continues as a world-renowned and important heritage mark, remaining on vehicles, websites, social media and retail sites, underpinning the world-class Range Rover, Defender and Discovery brands.’
When the news broke earlier this year of JLR’s ‘House of Brands’ plan, the omission of Land Rover from the line-up caused speculation that the firm was killing off the name.
There was outcry at the move to ditch the 75-year-old name, with Used Car Awards host and Wheeler Dealer star Mike Brewer saying the news made him ‘want to vomit’.
Briefing Car Dealer, the UK’s interim managing director Patrick McGillycuddy said the Land Rover name will continue to play an important role.
He said: ‘Land Rover, rather than being the overarching master brand, becomes the underpinning – it’s the supporting capability of our Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery brands.
‘So when customers see the Land Rover oval it is a reminder – it’s a promise of the authentic capability that is inherent in each of those three brands.
‘It will be on our vehicles. It’ll be on our premises. We absolutely see Land Rover as the underpinning trust mark of those three brands.’
Explaining how the brands will be different, JLR’s marketing director Anthony Bradbury said Range Rover will ‘lead by example’, Defender will ‘embrace the impossible’, Discovery will be about ‘never stop discovering’, while Jaguar is set to ‘inspire self expression’.
The news comes as the firm announces plans to cut the number of dealers it operates and move to fixed price agency sales for all cars from 2024.
