Land Rover looking at multiple new model opportunities

Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern gave the example of the 2013 Range Rover and the Range Rover Evoque “As having done the two bookends of the Range Rover vehicle”.

It’s that same successful ‘White paper’ design strategy that produced Evoque and one that McGovern wants to employ across the Land Rover brand that should see multiple model families emerge of the next five years.

“It’s a strategy that’s about developing as we see it, three families of vehicles all under the Land Rover brand. Those families representing luxury, versatility and dual-purpose.”

Land Rover’s market analysis indicates that by 2020 the SUV market will grow to over 20 million vehicles, globally. That represents a massive potential for the likes of Land Rover (and Jaguar) who are currently selling around 300,000 SUVs.

McGovern sites the Evoque as the first of a new wave of Land Rover vehicles that will target first-time customers to the brand.

“Evoque is a completely different customer to the traditional Range Rover buyer. 80 per cent of those people that buy that vehicle are new to the brand and 70 per cent have never bought an SUV before. It’s a younger audience, very urban orientated and lots of female owners.”

The next Land Rover models to be replaced are the Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender, which could also produce new vehicles within each model range.

McGovern also indicated that there is the potential to take the Range Rover to new luxury heights that would see it compete with the likes of Bentley’s proposed re-designed EXP 9 F SUV, that is likely to be unveiled at either this year’s LA Motor Show or at Detroit in 2013.

“It is our desire to create an Uber Range Rover, which is totally bespoke”, said McGovern.