You can say a lot of things about JLR but you can't accuse them of squandering opportunity.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/land-rover-defender-family-get-all-new-luxury-flagship

 

Whatever happened to all that talk about Thierry Bollore swooping in as new CEO and chopping off a number of slow selling models to cut costs, slim down the lineup and turn Land Rover into a lean, mean profits machine? So much for that nonsense. Sounds like even the Velar is here to stay, and I thought for sure it would get the axe.

 

Bingo. He's figuring out, in real-time, that he can lever the brand and turn it into another Bose, Dyson, Monster Cable. Super high margins marketing-driven company. He could easily double or triple the value of this company in no time but the core enthusiast buyers will not be as relevant to them.

 

Ever heard of the 911? Something like 22-24 variants of every generation: Coupe, Cab, Targa, RWD and AWD versions of all of these; base, T, S, GTS, GT3, GT2, RS, Speedster and so forth. And Porsche is the most profitable car company per-car-sold out there.

Not saying LR is doing it right, but model proliferation isn’t necessarily a bad thing to the bottom line.

 

It feels like there are three versions of that going on with LR.

You have this nice range of base to V8 with options along the Defender range for almost everyone except maybe those of us who want an easier path to 18's without driving a base model. It's really an odd miss for such an otherwise capable off-roader.

Then you have this move to the new electric platform that will undoubtedly have to exist along with the current range for a while.

Then these special editions with cheap wraps and marketing tie-ins that jump the waiting list seemingly for quick cash and a PR bump.

The comparison with Porsche is a good one in a lot of ways and I'm not at all a Porsche follower but, where it falls apart, is that I don't remember them ever being as gimmick driven. Would their core market accept having to 3rd-party swap the brakes to mount tires that released the basic capability of the vehicle? Or a wrap that's already pealing in the showroom?

Maybe the word I'm looking for is respect. Porsche seems to show a little more of it for their brand and their buyers than LR.

I'm willing to accept that this might be melodrama and that I'm just being difficult.

 

The current confusing lineup somewhat reminds me of what Apple was doing in the early to mid 90s before Jobs' return. They had so many different products, many of which were similar (e.g., Centris and Quadra) leading to confusion in the consumer and poor sales. Not saying it's exactly the same, but something I always think of with the current lineup from LR.

 

Seems like a bit of an identity crisis going on....in one way I am in favor allowing you to be able to spec a vehicle you like how you want it (eg more luxury than typical), but it does seem they are pushing the defender farther and farther away from its utilitarian and farm lifestyle into a high luxury sporty on road suv..Some of you may say that its already there, and in many ways I think that would be fair.

They already moved the discovery into a vehicle that looks more like the range rover then the LR4 model. Where does the discovery fit between a defender that can be larger and more luxurious and a range rover sport?

 

Porsche sold their soul to the devil years ago with the Cayenne, and laughed all the way to the bank. They miraculously managed to retain their image of uncompromising sports car company, even though they probably sell 20 SUVs for every one 911. Land Rover is more boxed in in that respect. Jaguar should help, but they keep sucking. The new Defender (the forthcoming 130 in particular, and this super duper luxury flagship they are talking about) is making the full size Discovery more and more superfluous. The D5 looks like the bargain in the full size Land Rover lineup right now, but it shouldn't be. Defenders should be the occupying that slot. The Evoque and Disco Sport are virtual copycats of each other. The Velar is... What is the Velar? It looks real sharp, I'll give you that, but it's squeezed into an impossibly thin slice of market share between the high volume Sport and the Evoque - and can't really go off-road like the other big boys in the family. Something's got to give.

 

Good points.

I think the same can be said of Maserati when they decided to release the Ghibli and the Levante. The brand was greatly cheapened with these moves and the marque no longer holds the mystique and allure it once did (becoming part of Chrysler didn't help either). Arguably, the build quality is not the same as well. I have a 2006 GranSport Spyder that was literally hand made in Modena Italy and has a Ferrari-based engine. I have driven the both the Ghibli and Levante and they are worlds apart from my much older Gransport Spyder. Sad. All that said, Maserati have sold a ton of Ghiblis and Levantes, no doubt helping the bottom line.

 

I think they may be on the right track with a Defender brand. But, in my opinion, they are missing a huge opportunity trying to take on the eight seater Suburban/Navigator market instead of taking on (redefining) the Bronco/Jeep market. Nothing in that article really sounds any better than what they've already designed. The current Defender design is really exceptional. Execution could use some work but the design and materials are already top tier. i think they are grossly overestimating the amount of size and luxury that the market really wants. At some point, the vehicle ceases to be classic at all and just becomes tacky. Sure, they could stand to add some obvious features like autonomous driving and more EV biased options. But I think a doors off, top-off vehicle based on what they already have would be a huge seller for them just based on my perceptions of the current trends. I personally think there are quite a few people who dropped 65k+ for a Jeep or Bronco who wouldn't blink an eye at shelling out 100k+ for a mid-range Defender with an open air option. I realize it's probably not as simple as I make it sound but it just seems like money left on the table.