Land Rover

Our video this week is a kind of birthday card love letter from Land Rover. I have to admit that I am a sap for these kinds of videos, and yes, I have been known to cry during Hallmark commercials. Seems this video, though nothing to do with Christmas, is perfect for this holiday week and remembering our families and the good times. The Land Rover Experience centre in Solihull recently welcomed a very special guest. Geoff, a lifelong Land Rover fan, celebrated his 80th birthday with a special surprise organized by Land Rover and his daughter. Getting behind the wheel of our latest vehicles, Geoff got some tips on off-roading from Phil Jones, our Land Rover Experience instructor. The surprises didn’t stop there as Mike Bishop, Product Manager of Land Rover Reborn, brought along a very special vehicle. Watch […]

Jaguar Land Rover is today opening its doors to female students to give them a deep insight into engineering and manufacturing careers. The students aged 15-18 have all applied for Jaguar Land Rover’s Advanced and Degree Apprenticeship programmes and secured their places on the course after passing initial HR screening and psychometric tests. During the four-day ‘Young Women in the Know’ programme, the students will tour design and manufacturing facilities, network with female employees, spend a day on work placement with a female mentor and brush up their workability skills including CV writing and interview practice. The scheme is running at five Jaguar Land Rover Education Business Partnership Centres in the Midlands and Merseyside.

The UK’s leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles has announced further global sales growth for November 2016, following a successful month in China and last week’s announcement that its Chinese plant is increasing capacity by over 50%. November % increase(decrease) YOY Jan – November % increase YOY 15/16 Financial Year % increase YOY Jaguar Land Rover 47,588 2 527,937 21 521,571 13 Jaguar 14,613 83 132,381 75 94,449 23 Land Rover 32,975 (14) 395,556 9 427,122 11 Jaguar Land Rover today reported its best ever November retail sales of 47,588 vehicles, up 2% compared to November 2015. The year-on-year growth in retail volumes was driven by strong sales of the new Jaguar XF (with the addition of the long wheel base XFL in China) and F-PACE as well as continuing solid sales of the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range […]

Santa’s chilly grotto could be consigned to Christmas past thanks to Land Rover’s engineers. They have created a cosy cabin that can be transported for a much-needed festive getaway – it fits inside a Land Rover Discovery Sport compact SUV. The cleverly designed cabin has space for two adults to sleep snugly in North Pole temperatures as low as -20°C. It folds down to fit in the rear of Land Rover’s top-selling Discovery Sport, so Santa could even fit it on his sleigh this Christmas.

The Land Rover Discovery has added yet another accolade to its enviable roll of honor by scooping the inaugural ‘Best Used SUV’ award at the annual Car Dealer Used Car Awards. The award adds to the Discovery’s enviable and diverse roll of honor already topping 85 awards globally including ‘Tow Car of the Decade’ awarded in June of this year by the jurors of the annual Tow Car Awards. Each car is judged on the traditional benchmarks of three-years/30,000 miles and the figures show that the Discovery is the clear winner by retaining the highest percentage of value from new, while also spending less time on the forecourts of retailers and used car specialists. Upon selecting the Discovery, the expert judging panel from Car Dealer Magazine, said: We’ve researched the numbers thoroughly. We’ve obtained data from Auto Trader, CAP HPI […]

For students of the history of Jaguar Cars, a book written by Chris Cowin, first 2012 and republished 2014 may be of interest. The book, British Leyland: Chronicle of a Car Crash 1968-1978 is simply packed with interesting history. This is the comprehensive story of a collection of once great and diverse British industries, primarily automotive, and their slow but relentless move toward destruction with only a few surviving pieces, Jaguar and Land Rover. For Jaguar only followers much of this book may be irrelevant as it deals in great detail about the downward spiral of the largest indigenous British car companies beginning about 1968 but this date is approximate.

Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover finally has something of substance to say about the long-awaited Defender replacement. “It’s sensational.” The new Defender’s development has so far taken place in almost complete secrecy. There has been so little information coming from Solihull that many wondered if the company had anything substantial in the works. Now, Speth has finally come forward and thrown out a few morsels of information.

Speeds of 96mph, 75 percent gradients and a 7,119 ft. descent, the Range Rover Sport has conquered it all on an Alpine ski course that has been the downfall of many skiers (1). The Range Rover Sport is the first-ever production vehicle to attempt the fearsome ski run. Piloted by renowned race and stunt driver Ben Collins, the all-terrain super-SUV tackled the treacherous terrain on the 9.25 mile downhill route at Mürren in Switzerland, completing it in 21min 36sec. During the 7,119 ft descent, the Range Rover Sport followed the route used by skiers on the tough Inferno Mürren, one of the oldest and most challenging downhill races. It tackled snow, ice, loose rock, mud, broken asphalt, grass and gravel, helped by Land Rover Terrain Response ® technology (2). Introduced in 2013, Range Rover Sport is a genuine Land Rover […]

Strong sales across Europe helped Jaguar Land Rover achieve its strongest global October sales to date, selling 46,325 vehicles, up 12% year on year. The month’s performance was driven by improved sales of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar F-PACE. Jaguar Land Rover sold 480,349 vehicles in the first ten months of 2016, up 23% on the same period in the prior year. Jaguar Land Rover delivered solid retail sales growth across all key regions year on year: Europe up 33%, China up 29%, North America up 25%, UK up 22% and other overseas markets up 4%.

Jaguar Land Rover showcased its latest Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies as part of the UK Autodrive demonstrations taking place at HORIBA MIRA. In a UK first, Jaguar Land Rover is working with Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre to test connected technologies that will allow cars to talk to each other as well as the roadside infrastructure, such as traffic lights, in the future. Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies are one of Jaguar Land Rover’s research priorities. It is creating a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles to develop and test a wide range of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies over the next four years. Ultimately, these technologies will enhance the driving experience as well as making driving smarter, safer and even cleaner in the years to come. Tony Harper, Head of Research, Jaguar Land Rover, said: […]

Jaguar Land Rover is set to shed more than 250 agency workers at its Solihull plant as part of plans to transfer production of the Jaguar XE saloon to Castle Bromwich. The Coventry car maker has confirmed the staff are set to see their temporary contracts come to an end. In all more 267 agency staff are set to leave the Lode Lane factory over the coming weeks. One employee revealed workers “had no idea” they would be laid off and assumed they were being transferred to other parts of the luxury car manufacturer. It is understood 67 agency staff have left the Solihull plant with a further 200 from the Manpower agency set to go in the coming weeks. Note: All or parts of this story come via the Coventry Telegraph – please check out their full story.  

Lookers Jaguar Land Rover West London celebrated the launch of its luxurious new £12m showroom with a special event featuring the first showing of Land Rover’s New Discovery in the capital.  Loyal customers and VIPs were in attendance, including the awe-inspiring explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and ‘Great Escapes’ star and marine explorer Monty Halls. Constantly juggling TV, biology and charity projects, Monty Halls came to Lookers West London last night especially to spec his new Discovery having attended the exclusive unveiling event at Packington Hall last month. Monty said: Land Rovers have been a part of my life for some 30 years, from my time in the Marines to the expeditions and TV projects they have supported me on.  I can’t imagine living without a Land Rover.  And with more equipment (and children!) to carry around with me on projects […]

Land Rover Classic has opened its doors to the new Reborn Tour giving visitors the chance to experience the restoration of an early Land Rover live at the brand’s bespoke workshop and facility at Solihull – the ‘Home of the Legend’. The Reborn Tour and Driving Experience begins with refreshments and welcome from an experienced and knowledgeable Land Rover tour guide. With the scene set, visitors are granted exclusive access to the newly updated Jaguar Land Rover Classic workshop at Solihull where the exquisite Series I Reborn fully restored project continues under the expert team from Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

Jaguar Land Rover today reported September 2016 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 2,662 units, a 168 percent increase from 995 units in September 2015; Land Rover sales reached 5,637 units, the 2nd highest September ever and down 4 percent from record sales of 5,855 units in September 2015; Jaguar Land Rover September U.S. sales for both brands hit 8,299 units, a 21 percent increase from 6,850 units in September 2015; making it the best JLR September sales month since 2003. Year-to-date, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales reached 74,740, up 25 percent from 59,619 units in 2015. “Jaguar Land Rover continues to increase its U.S. presence with a 21 percent increase this month and 25 percent for the year,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC. “We are thrilled that Jaguar is tracking to be the […]

The New Discovery embodies Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond, combining British desirability with an unstoppable spirit of adventure. It’s an authentic, three-row, seven-seat SUV with unbeatable capability and versatility.  The new Land Rover Discovery will go on sale from Spring 2017 priced from £43,495 /$49,990 (OTR). Everyday ingenuity has been at the heart of the Discovery attracting more than 1.2 million customers over the last 27 years. The fifth-generation model benefits from Land Rover’s strong, safe and light full-size SUV architecture, delivering comfort and adaptability like no other.

Land Rover has revealed the New Discovery seven-seat SUV by breaking a Guinness World Record for the largest LEGO structure ever built. Long-term Land Rover Discovery owners Bear Grylls, Sir Ben Ainslie and Zara Phillips took part in the dynamic live reveal of Land Rover’s most versatile model around a 13-metre high LEGO version of London’s Tower Bridge.

Our Video of the Week this time around focuses on The Camel Trophy and the Land Rover participation in that event. The Camel Trophy was held yearly from 1980 and 2000 was an extremely challenging off-road trial. Quoting from the Wikipedia entry on the Camel Trophy … The Camel Trophy began in 1980 with a transit of the Trans-Amazonian highway, subsequent events have been called “the Olympics of 4×4”. They were all about adventure and exploration. Over the next eight years, the expeditions crossed Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, Zaire, Brazil, Borneo, Australia, Madagascar (the first north-south crossing) and Sulawesi before returning to the Amazon. These grueling tests of human endurance brought together teams from around the world in the hope of triumphing in some of the most treacherous off-road conditions imaginable. Teamwork and camaraderie were crucial. The competitive element came […]

Jaguar Land Rover, North America, the Mahwah-based arm of British premium automaker Jaguar Land Rover Limited, announced today it has received Mahwah Township Planning Board approval to begin customizing and expanding an office complex on Rt. 17 North in Mahwah, within Bergen County, to be the site of its new North American headquarters. Construction on the existing facility will begin this year, with design by Gensler Architecture/Design Inc. The move to the new facility from the current headquarters in Mahwah is slated for early 2018. Jaguar Land Rover is in the midst of multi-year growth streak with expanding product lineups for both its Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Through the first eight months of 2016, the company’s U.S. sales have increased 46 percent and Canadian sales have increased 33 percent.