Jaguar Land Rover Archives - Indiandrives.com

April 23, 2015

Range Rover Evoque Copy Receives Green Flag For Production In China

The time where numerous amount of money is spent on design and the development of a new product and more of them are splurged to sell them and develop a market for such fresh traits, it sounds very distracting to hear the imitation of Range Rover Evoque got a green flag to enter the production in China. The product called LandWind X7 was unveiled at Guangzhou Motor Show last year, and now it even witnessed the Shanghai Motor show. This time, the vehicle receives acceptance from the authorities to go into the production, claimed a source.

As per the reports, LandWind X7 bears a price tag of £14,000, where in comparison the Range Rover Evoque retails for £40,000. However, this vast difference between both of them will ravel hampering of quality as well as power. To our expectations, the LandWind SUV will remain as a good option from traveling from point A to B, rather than experiencing the thrill of a Range Rover behind its steering wheel. Yet, the maker has tried to push hard the limits and bring the new vehicle with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine sending 190.6PS of max power and 250Nm of peak torque. Transmission options available are 6-speed manual and an 8-speed automatic.

To answer In brief what the LandWind is about, it is a joint venture between Changan Auto and Jiangling Motors Corporation, who are listed as some of the most renowned companies in China. Commenting on this strategic disturbance, Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO of JLR said, as an organization JLR invested hugely in the Chinese market in joint venture with the Chery. The commitment is laid out on a clear business plan which allows the organization to hit the sales targets on clear prices. If anything that comes into way and damages the potential profitability of the manufacturing facility, it will also damage the integrity of the said plans.

Thus, the worries may surround other carmakers as well. After all, such a move in the land of China will strengthen the efforts of copy and fakes business house holders to further clone more successful models of the auto world.

August 14, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Celebrates 5th Anniversary In India

Indian wing of Jaguar Land Rover has called for a toast of celebration with its 5th anniversary in India. To make this occasion a more important date, British carmaker had made available 3 year plans of service for some of the models to Indian customers.

Jaguar had marked significant prominence, popularity and acceptance in India during the past five years.

In the recent past, the company had come with the multi city drive initiative for customers across the nation. The said program was hosted under the umbrella of Jaguar ‘ALIVE’ Drive Experience, which provided customers a chance to connect with the brand by driving some of its niche cars that are adored and glared when out on roads. For example, in the case of India, it was the F-Type and XKR-S which our nation-based customers had driven during the event.

At present, the carmaker enjoys retailing of its cars through 21 dealerships in the country spawned across 19 cities. It too had planned to expand them to 23 by end of the current financial year.

JLR in the local manufacturing plant at Pune, Maharashtra produces the biggest sedan Jaguar XJ, the mid-sized Jaguar XF and from SUVs it’s the Freelander 2 by Land Rover.

Apart from all, the company had experienced 22% growth Year on Year basis during the calendar year 2013. It is also honoured with 15 top automobile Awards in India.

Jaguar Land Rover repertoire in India is available with Jaguar XK, Jaguar XF, and Jaguar F-Type. On the other side, Land Rover part is included of Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

July 28, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Buys Largest Privately Owned British Classic Car Collection

Owning heritage is a pride itself, and seems no one is going to know it better than Jaguar Land Rover now.

As reported that JLR purchased the largest privately owned collection of British cars, the carmaker had secured important collection for the nation.

The collection includes 543 mostly British classic cars and features many significant Jaguar models including XK SS, C, D and E-types. The seller was a British enthusiast named James Hull.

The purchase was made by the recently created Jaguar’s Special Operations division which includes the Jaguar Heritage business.

To continue the legacy further, a brand new Jaguar Heritage workshop at the historic Browns Lane, Coventry, site will maintain the Jaguars in the collection – this new facility will also offer Jaguar warrantied servicing and restoration of the company’s classic models

The cars in the collection will be actively used to support Jaguar brand events and customer experiences around the world and in developing markets, creating value for the Jaguar Land Rover business.

Jaguar says core of the collection was 130 Jaguars. These include early Swallow Sidecars and Swallow coachbuilt Austin Sevens, plus a full and diverse range of pre-war SS models, 7 XK 120s – including a rare alloy-bodied example, C- and D-types, an XKSS, 8 E-types, 30 classic Jaguar ‘Mark’ model saloons plus 19 XJS models and over 20 XJ saloons with interesting and famous previous owners. All the cars are in immaculate condition.

Cars in the collection are not to be retained idle, Jaguar confirmed of using them actively to support brand events and customer experiences around the world and in developing markets, creating value for the Jaguar Land Rover business.

Expressing his views over this bulk purchase of heritage cars, John Edwards, Managing Director of Special Vehicle Operations said, “We are delighted that Jaguar Land Rover has come to an agreement with James Hull to secure the future of this very significant collection of Jaguar and British cars. We share the same objective as James to keep this unique collection in British hands and we are delighted this agreement secures their custody for the future. We look forward to continuing to work with James going forward as we develop our heritage activities.

Heritage is becoming an ever more important differentiating factor when it comes to experiential customer marketing and in developing our brands in new and emerging markets. Jaguar and Land Rover have a combined “back catalogue” of over one hundred and forty years to draw upon and some of the most iconic vehicles in the industry. In addition with the explosive growth and interest in classic car events worldwide and the increase in the size and value of the market, there is a strong brand and business rationale underpinning this agreement.”

James Hull commented, “Travelling all over the world to build the collection over the years has been a labour of love and a life’s work, so my primary motivation was not to get the maximum price but rather to secure the future of the collection in this country with the right custodian. I have got to know Jaguar Land Rover well in recent years and they have borrowed cars from the collection for events such as the Mille Miglia and supporting Jaguar in China. They are the perfect custodians to take the collection forward and I know it is in safe hands.”

July 10, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Develops The Self-Learning Intelligent Car Of The Future

This British carmaker always stands out from the whole crowd, and it isn’t doubtful that one day the world will have a strong taste of British over the rest. And with such confidence, the Britain-originated-India-owned Jaguar Land Rover had developed a self-learning intelligent car of the future that will have its own ‘Smart Assistant’. Likewise its name, the car too will be smart enough to let the driver concentrate on driving the most rather than focusing on other adjustments.

However, Smart Assistant will recognize the owners by its smart phone or other devices in his pockets and would adjust the seating, temperatures, and such before he opens the door.

It will also remind them about the task had to be taken on that day; otherwise will follow its daily route.

Commenting about this new development, Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover, said, “The aim of our self-learning technology is to minimise driver distraction, which will help reduce the risk of accidents. Presenting the driver with information just at the right time whilst driving will reduce both cognitive distraction and the need for the driver to look away from the road to scroll through phone lists, or adjust mirrors, temperature or seat functions while on the road.”

“Up until now most self-learning car research has only focused on traffic or navigation prediction. We want to take this a significant step further and our new learning algorithm means information learnt about you will deliver a completely personalised driving experience and enhance driving pleasure,” he further added.

Mentioned below are some of the features included in the Self-Learning Car concept:

Vehicle Personalisation – climate, seat, steering wheel, mirrors and infotainment settings.
Destination Prediction – automatic destination entry to navigation system based on historical usage.
Fuel Assist- suggests fuel stations which have the driver’s preferred brand and location, based on historical usage. The car will let you know if you have enough fuel before long journeys the day before you travel.
Predictive Phone Call – predicts who you are likely to call in a certain situation.
Passenger Awareness – will activate passenger preferred infotainment settings and personal climate zones.
Intelligent Notifications – based on traffic situation, the car can alert people that you will be late or provide relevant contextual updates such as flight delays on your drive to the airport.
Auto Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) – when AACC is activated, the car applies the distance setting and acceleration profile it has learned when the driver is driving the vehicle.

June 13, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Launched

Jaguar’s British fumes are impeccable, but it doesn’t seem those English culture is going to pay the automaker more lucratively anymore. Stepping out from its conventional British shoes, Jaguar announces the launch of a “Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations”. It means the special executive from the company will be assigned the job of extracting more sum of money from the customers by selling limited editions, performance versions, restoring heritage, branded goods and many more. John Edwards will lead this whole section.

Under the hat of this Special Operation, following products and services are said to be on sales:

High specification vehicles that showcase the best of both brands, including high performance derivatives, ultra luxury products and limited run collector editions.
Truly bespoke commissions and an extended choice of colour and trim specifications and accessories.
Heritage products including vehicle recreations, servicing and restorations, and the creation and provision of heritage vehicle parts.
A new portfolio of branded goods that will engage with a wide audience of current and potential customers.

Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive, Dr. Ralf Speth, commented: “The creation of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations demonstrates our continued commitment to placing customers at the heart of everything we do. This investment in exciting and desirable products will reinforce the global reputation of both Jaguar and Land Rover brands.”

John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: “As a business, we are completely focused on enhancing and personalising the relationship our most discerning and enthusiastic customers have with our brands.”

He added, “By creating a Special Operations division we can harness the very best talent and expertise Jaguar Land Rover has – to deliver exceptional products and services our customers will love for life.”

Paul Newsome, Director of Special Vehicle Operations, will lead team of expert designers and engineers recruited from Williams Advanced Engineering. This team will work on halo vehicles ranging from high luxury to extreme performance.

The new dedicated technical center will be opened at West Midlands area of the UK, which will be very close to the current headquarters, is said be based on the inspirations from Formula 1 flexible workshop, assisted by a fully automated paint facility.

Alongside in Coventry, at the Brown Lanes, a new heritage vehicle workshop will be created to be the production house to six recently announced lightweight E-Type recreations, which then will allow the newly formed heritage team to expand its servicing and restoration services. The newly expanded heritage business will be open from August 1st.

May 31, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Inaugurates its First Showroom in Raipur

Jaguar Land Rover forayed into the State of Chhattisgarh with the inauguration of a new showroom in Raipur.

This state-of-the-art showroom is a first for the carmaker in Raipur, and will offer customers with a high level of sales and after-sales services.

Mr. Rohit Suri, Vice President, Jaguar Land Rover, India: “I am delighted to be opening our first showroom in the State of Chhattisgarh. The 3S facility in Raipur is the largest among the premium car dealerships in the state and reflects our commitment to set a new benchmark for customer experience.”

Operated under the name of Satyam Balajee Automotives (P) Ltd. the dealership facility is located at NH-6, Ring Road 1, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The showroom will enable customers to access a range of Jaguar Land Rover products, including the Jaguar XF, XJ, XKR and F-TYPE. For Land Rover, this will include the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Discovery 4 and Freelander 2.

The dealership facility is spread over a total area of 50,000 sq ft and held 8 cars on display in the showroom.

Likewise the aggressiveness of Jaguar and unstoppable quality of Land Rover vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover India continues to grow its distribution network; now operates 20 outlets in 18 major cities across India.

May 23, 2014

Locally Manufactured Jaguar XJ Launched in India for Rs 92.1 Lakh

Jaguar pounce the Indian market after it got together with the Tata Motors. And now rolling off one more models from its local manufacturing facility in Pune, the flagship sedan XJ began its production there alongside the Jaguar XF and Land Rover Freelander.

Priced at Rs 92.1 lakh (Ex-showroom Mumbai, before Octroi), the sedan is now holding a banner of under Rs 1 crore, where earlier it was used to be retailed for Rs 1.16 crore when brought to India as completely built units.

However, now, the car will have more features at a lower price than it used to have before. Three massage seat functions, increased rear headroom, electric rear side window blinds, LED reading lights, 25.9 cm (10.2) rear screens (Rear Seat Entertainment System) and a new rear business table are named in the official note of Jaguar.

Available in two trims – Premium Luxury and Portfolio, Jaguar XJ is rolled out from Pune facility only with the 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine producing 271bhp and 61.2kgm of torque that sends power to the rear wheels, via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Despite such heavy dose of luxury on board, the Jaguar XJ doesn’t shies away from rolling 0 to 100 km/h sprint in a mere time of 6.4 seconds. The 237bhp 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol motor is not announced to be made in India at the point of writing, to continue with the foreign assembly for the moment.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Rohit Suri, Vice President, Jaguar Land Rover, India said, “We are delighted to introduce the flagship of the Jaguar brand, the epitome of extraordinary luxury, the XJ as locally manufactured, at an extremely competitive price point in the luxury saloon segment in India. The new 2014 XJ with new innovative features is bound to have an enhanced appeal for the discerning and successful individuals with a refined taste for elegant British style, luxury, design and sophistication.”

On the competition note, the Jaguar XJ sits in line with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series, out of which the Merc is costliest of all, and the Jag is the most affordable option. The BMW sits in between, and needed not to tell, all the three are locally manufactured in India at their respective facility. And not the least, Audi too rolled out the A8 facelift with the Matrix headlamps in the recent past, which too shares the space with the aforesaid models.

April 7, 2014

Jaguar Land Rover Installs UK’s Largest Rooftop Solar Panel Array At Engine Manufacturing Centre

Jaguar Land Rover has completed the installation of the largest rooftop solar panel array of United kingdom at its new state-of-the art Engine Manufacturing Centre at i54 South Staffordshire. The all-new plant has been designed with sustainability embedded throughout and has recently been awarded BREEAM’s ‘Excellent’ rating for the design stage of the assessment for sustainable buildings.

More than 21,000 photovoltaic panels, with a capacity of 5.8MW, have been fixed to the roof of the Engine Manufacturing Centre with plans to increase this to over 6.3MW by the end of 2014. It is estimated that the system will be generating more than 30 percent of energy requirements of Engine Manufacturing Centre. This is the equivalent to the energy needed to power more than 1600 homes. The photovoltaic panels will be reducing the facility’s CO2 footprint by over 2400 tons per year.

Trevor Leeks, Operations Director at Engine Manufacturing Centre, said, “Our world-class facility showcases the latest sustainable innovations and technologies. The completion of United Kingdom’s biggest rooftop solar panel installation here at the Engine Manufacturing Centre is just one example of this. “As the first manufacturer to win the ‘Responsible Business of the Year’ 2013, environmental innovation lies at the heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s business.”

Based at the heart of United Kingdom, the modern Engine Manufacturing Centre is the first new facility, which JLR Rover has built from the ground up. The site symbolizes an investment of more than £500 million and will be creating nearly 1400 new jobs by the time the plant reaches full capacity. The world-class plant will be manufacturing the first family of advanced technology, premium powerplants, Ingenium, to be fully designed and built in-house by JLR for exclusive use in the automaker’s future vehicles. The Jaguar XE, introducing next year, will be the first vehicle equipped with these four-cylinder engines.

The Engine Manufacturing Centre of Jaguar Land Rover uses cutting-edge lighting and heating systems designed and engineered for minimizing energy demand through the use of insulated cladding, for harnessing natural ventilation through the use of automatic louvers and for maximizing daylight through the roof design. Extensive energy monitoring facilities in the plant continually analyze the amount of energy being used and identify opportunities for reducing that energy consumption, for both natural gas and electricity.

Outside of the building, Jaguar Land Rover plans to create an ecological corridor across the bottom of its site. The corridor will be designed for encouraging the natural movement of species from one side of the site to the other. In addition, there are plans to install features such as habitat piles, boxes, insect houses and dead wood stumps to encourage invertebrates, small mammals, bats, birds and amphibians to the site.

Jaguar Land Rover won Business in the Community’s ‘Responsible Business of the Year 2013’ for placing environmental innovation at the heart of its business strategy, embedding sustainability at every stage of product development process and all levels of the business. This week JLR is celebrating ‘Responsible Business Week’ as a part of Business in Community’s national week-long campaign dedicated to sustainable business.

February 16, 2014

Prime Minister David Cameron Visits Jaguar Land Rover’s Engine Manufacturing Centre

Jaguar Land Rover welcomed the Prime Minister David Cameron to its world-class Engine Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands. The Prime Minister was given a tour of the new plant where he saw the on-going installation of the manufacturing equipment first hand.

Jaguar Land Rover’s state-of-the-art Engine Manufacturing Centre is the first new facility that the company has built from the ground up. Based at the heart of the UK, it is ideally located between the company’s three other manufacturing sites at Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Solihull. Almost 1,400 jobs will be created by the time the plant reaches its full capacity.

Representing an investment of more than £500 million, the plant will manufacture Jaguar Land Rover’s most advanced engines ever. Designed and developed at the company’s Product Development Centre in Whitley, this new family of premium, lightweight, low-friction, low-emission four cylinder petrol and diesel engines will be manufactured for future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

The Prime Minister said, “Whenever I come to one of your plants, it makes my spirits soar when I see such an exciting future for British manufacturing. Everywhere I go in the world I support Jaguar Land Rover. This is a great British success story.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s Executive Director, Mike Wright commented, “Our world-class new facility incorporates the latest technologies meeting the highest standards of production and demonstrates our continued commitment to UK manufacturing.

We are proud to show Prime Minister David Cameron around our plant today as our team begins to commission the equipment which will be used to manufacture our most advanced engines ever.”

The plant boasts almost 100,000 square metres of internal floor area, equivalent to the area of 14 football pitches. It comprises of three manufacturing halls – one for machining the cylinder heads, cylinder blocks and crankshafts, one for assembling diesel engines and one for assembling petrol engines. The first engines will come off the assembly line in early 2015

December 12, 2013

Jaguar Land Rover Delivers Strong Retail Performance in November

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles continues its sales success with a strong November performance, retailing 37,403 vehicles in the month, up 25% versus the same period last year. During the first eleven months of the year, Jaguar Land Rover sold 384,339 vehicles, up 19%.

Sustained sales growth continues for Jaguar Land Rover with increases in: the China Region up 42%, North America up 37%, Asia Pacific up 32%, Europe up 7%, other overseas markets up 42%, with UK sales consistent with the previous year. Sales for the first eleven months of the year were up in all major regions with Asia Pacific up 30%, the China Region up 28%, North America up 21%, the UK up 14%, Europe up 6% and other overseas markets up 23%.

Commenting on the November performance Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: “November has been another solid month in what has so far, been a great year for Jaguar Land Rover. Our continued sales success is a testament to our sustained investment in new and exciting products which are driving growth internationally and attracting new customers to our brands”.

In November, Jaguar sold 6,244 vehicles up 55% reflecting particularly strong demand for the XJ and all XF derivatives, up 62% and 39% respectively. Jaguar demonstrated significant growth in the China Region, with North America up 105%, Asia Pacific up 62%, Europe up 5%, other overseas markets up 16%. The UK was down 5% as the registration year comes to an end.

Calendar year to date, Jaguar sold 69,655 vehicles up 42% with increases in each major region: the China Region up 144%, North America up 44%, Asia Pacific up 30%, the UK up 17%, Europe up 17% and other overseas markets up 31%.

In November, Land Rover sold 31,159 vehicles, up 20% with strong performances from all models in the range: Defender up 27% and Range Rover Evoque up 10%. Range Rover and Range Rover Sport continue to sell well across all markets. Land Rover demonstrated growth in all major regions: North America up 25%, Asia Pacific up 25%, China Region up 27%, the UK showed an improvement, Europe up 7% and other overseas markets up 45%.

Calendar year to date, Land Rover sold 314,684 vehicles up 14% with increases in all major regions: Asia Pacific up 31%, North America up 15%, UK up 13%, China Region up 14%, Europe up 4% and other overseas markets up 22%.