In a shock move, Jaguar Land Rover has announced it will rebrand officially as ‘JLR’ as it aims to become “the world’s leading modern luxury car manufacturer” within the next five years, doing so with a brace of new electric Jaguars and Range Rovers.
The restructure, and an accompanying £15 billion investment (just over $25 billion), re-affirms Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘Reimagine’ electrification strategy to become “an electric-first” brand by 2030. The company has also confirmed that the rebrand will be worked around four pillars: Jaguar, the Defender and Discovery product ‘families,’ and Range Rover.
Range Rover SV
Speaking to global media earlier today, JLR CEO Adrian Mardell explained that the investment “enables [the company] to deliver to [its] modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming [its] commitment to be carbon net zero by 2039.”
The rebrand effectively moves ‘JLR’ away from its traditional premium target market alongside the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes into the loftier luxury arena frequented by fellow British marque, Bentley. The new ‘House of Brands’ – yikes! – also means the ‘Land Rover’ name will disappear 45 years after it was first introduced.
Jaguar I-Pace
Though dubbed a “natural evolution” by JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern, the move has not gone down well online.
“Pivotal to our Reimagine strategy is the formation of the House of Brands, which is a natural evolution, with a purpose of elevating and amplifying the uniqueness of our characterful British marques.” says McGovern. “Our ultimate ambition is to build truly emotionally engaging experiences for our clients that, overtime, will build long-term high equity for our brands and long-term sustainability for JLR.”
Among the first (of a planned three) electric Jaguars leading the new ‘JLR’ charge will be a four-door GT – teased earlier this week, and speculated to be a potential rival to the Porsche Taycan – that will boast “a power output more than any previous Jaguar” and offer up to 700 km of electric charge. Set to go on sale in 2024 (deliveries due in 2025) for around £100,000 (around $167,500), the new four-door GT Jag will be built atop a new, bespoke ‘JEA’ EV-dedicated architecture, though no further details have been provided.
JLR also confirmed that customer orders for a new all-electric Range Rover will open later this year ahead of the model’s planned arrival in late 2024. The model will be built on an electrified modular architecture (EMA), as indeed will a new mid-sized all-electric model that’s set to be introduced for 2025. Though not confirmed, this is likely to be the latest generation Velar.
Interestingly, the modular longitudinal architecture (MLA) currently at the heart of both the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport will remain as JLR keeps its ICE and hybrid options open in the short term.
These electric newcomers are expected to be produced at JLR’s existing Halewood plant in the UK, which will be fully renovated for EV production. Its Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, meanwhile, will henceforth cease to produce the company’s ‘Ingenium’ generation of combustion engines, and will instead be re-focused for electric drive units and battery packs.
