Within the electrification era, where performance and range grow to be increasingly similar across brands, JLR is doubling down on identity across its multitude of brands.
In keeping with Range Rover global managing director Martin Limpert, JLR’s “House of Brands” strategy – introduced in 2023 – is not going to only shape product portfolios but in addition sharpen how consumers perceive the Range Rover, Defender, Jaguar, and Discovery brands.
With latest logos, latest (and sometimes controversial) identities and an enormous gamble on where the long run sees the JLR products when it comes to market position, there has never been more at stake.
“We’re a brand-led business now, even greater than before,” Mr Limpert said. “With the House of Brands… because the brands, we define what the values are after which dial them up.”
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The necessity to amplify core brand values becomes increasingly urgent as iconic traits like V8 engines and mechanical complexity grow to be less distinguished.
“Regardless of what number of other brands enter the market, [Britishness] is something now we have to construct and dial up,” Mr Limpert said. “We’re the primary luxury SUV. In order that’s, again, an asset that we wish to construct on.”
For Range Rover, which means refining its well-established identity of unpolluted design, quiet luxury, and capability.
“The craftsmanship of execution… these are those values that we will probably be even emphasising further, because they’re the core DNA of Range Rover,” said Mr Limpert.
Defender, meanwhile, is cautiously entering more premium territory. The brand new OCTA variant, as an illustration, sits on the high end of the value spectrum taking up the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, raising concerns about potential brand overlap with Range Rover Sport. But Mr Limpert sees differentiation, not competition.
“In case you take Defender primarily, it’s about adventurous driving, driving capabilities, really off-road, credible off-road capabilities and community constructing,” he explained. “While in Range Rover… it’s more concerning the refinement, the execution and the design.”
Jaguar’s reinvention will lean even farther from tradition. Having caused an important deal of controversy with its latest brand identity, so much is riding on the brand’s success, which it goals to realize by becoming more expressive, youthful, and art-driven.
“Jaguar is all about exuberance, modernism, really progressive… an environment where you could have progressive people, arts, modern music, etc,” Mr Limpert said. “So again, talking to partially to a younger audience, more modernist and more expressive orientated audiences.”
Discovery stays in flux. Mr Limpert described it because the brand of “versatility” with a give attention to family travel and leisure but admitted it’s still being reimagined.
Meanwhile, the model lineup beneath each brand is unlikely to expand significantly. When asked whether Range Rover might introduce lower-priced offerings to sit down below the Evoque, Mr Limpert wouldn’t speculate.
“For now, [Range Rover and Range Rover Sport] are about refinement, sportiness,” he said. “And the Velar and the Evoque for now are about elegance and concrete environments and addressing their respective audiences.”
Mr Limpert also confirmed that existing models, resembling the Velar, will proceed to be produced with ongoing updates.
The important challenge for JLR’s House of Brands will probably be their ability to hold their identities into the long run without losing authenticity.
For instance, having ditched the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 for a BMW-sourced engine in its high-end variants, the Britishness of JLR is already under threat.
One need only take a look at Aston Martin as an ideal example of how such a move has affected its appeal, as its switch to Mercedes-AMG-sourced engines in a few of its vehicles has eroded a few of its appeal with customers.
Time will tell how well JLR will flourish with the inevitable pressures of platform-sharing, regulation, and mass-market EV competition. But positively, JLR seems committed to putting identity and brand before short-term profit.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
