Jaguar Land Rover becomes JLR – a good idea?

It’s my instinct as a lover of cars and, more specifically, a lover of Jaguar and Land Rover cars going back throughout their decades-long histories, to knee-jerk against this. I know what I love and I love what I know. But for better or worse, what I know and what I love is changing. In an industry desperate to sell to car-shy younger generations, who remember more of the bad than the good of existing manufacturers and who see more brand value in Tesla than Land Rover, perhaps it’s a good idea.

What legacy?

Let’s not forget that while the cars themselves have been good from a reviewer’s perspective, there’s plenty of bad to remember about Jaguars and Land Rovers from an owner’s point of view. That’s to say, plenty of bad reliability, to the point that Jaguar Land Rover’s previous CEO Thierry Bolloré (who departed late last year for personal reasons), admitted such quality issues have in the recent past cost the company an estimated 100,000 sales per year.

In fact, prevailing public opinion (and experience, if you read JD power surveys) around the Land Rover brand has been so damning that we have to wonder if this wasn’t the behind-the-scenes driving force for this rebrand.

JLR and Range Rover: Making official what’s long been the feeling

Consider also our perception of Land Rover’s products and the brandification of some of them that’s already taken place over the years. How many times have you heard people mistakenly refer to a Range Rover in a way that suggests it’s its own brand, not a sub-product of Land Rover? I’d say that for the last three generations and two decades, going back to the L322 at least, many have seen Range Rovers as their own thing and that the green oval has been somewhat redundant.

For the past 15 years, that’s how Land Rover has sold and positioned them, expanding the family with sub-versions beginning with the Sport, leading through Evoque and now Velar. Consider too that these have been some of Land Rover’s most successful models, not thanks to the brand value of Land Rover, but Range Rover.

It’s my feeling too that the same is almost the case now with the Defender (do we need the ‘the’ anymore?), which if you go back through its family history, began simply as ‘Land Rover’ in 1948. It would not be a stretch to see Defender become its own family of cars, as Range Rover has, so long as what’s seen as integral to the Defender brand value isn’t besmirched. Range Rover badges might sell whatever they’re bolted to, but if those cars didn’t look and feel good, signifying opulence, the brand value would have quickly eroded.

Jaguar goes without saying, it’s always been and sort of remains its own thing. It’s Discovery I’m the most sceptical of. The awkward middle sibling has, since the discontinuation of the Discovery 4, and arguably before, never quite managed to balance how much ‘Range Rover’ to combine with ‘Defender’. The rounded but not-so-stylish Discovery 5 got a lukewarm reception and has been a sales pariah, while the Discovery Sport has bubbled away nicely as a less posey equivalent to the Evoque for people who for whatever reason miss the Freelander.

What JLR needs to do

JLR has a few problems, and this rebrand is only a part of the solution, the success of which is entirely contingent on other changes being made. What needs to happen is twofold. Quality and reliability absolutely have to be ramped up. Bolloré said that process was his priority in his time as CEO. The process is arguably ongoing, with warranty costs said to have been halved as far back as 2020 (the nine months up to December 2020), to the tune of over £300million. Gerry McGovern, JLR’s head of design, has said a massive reduction in complexity is going some way to helping efforts to boost reliability and quality. In a perfect world, the rebrand is a sign JLR is happy with progress on that front, given how much of a waste it’ll be if it’s haunted by those issues. 

The second thing? A product shake-up which, if reports are to be believed, is very much coming. Order books for the electric versions of the new Range Rovers are shortly to open, there’s a family of Defenders in the planning and development stages and there’s a whole new generation of reimagined all-electric Discoverys, Velars, Evoques and Jaguars waiting in the wings. Let’s hope these cars, specifically from the former three ‘tent poles’, are distinctive enough to define what are now all but brands of their own, rather than model lines. We say again, Discovery is the big unknown here.

It also remains to be seen what you, the car-buying, car-loving public thinks of it all, because ultimately that’s what matters. Will you miss the Land Rover badge? Is it all for nothing if JLR products still aren’t screwed together properly? Does the fat need to be trimmed in some line-ups? If they succeed in reshuffling and massively improving quality, would you consider buying one?

UPDATE: JLR insists Land Rover lives on...

In response to the above question of whether you will miss the Land Rover badge, JLR insists it isn’t going anywhere, and has since issued this statement:

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.

We are not losing the Land Rover name; its spirit is – and will continue to be – a crucial part of our DNA. 

Do you think the statement clarifies Land Rover's status going forward? Let us know your thoughts.