Land Rover looks to the future
LAND ROVER: it’s part of the fabric of Britain. The 1948 utility 4×4 model that started the story has become a car maker in its own right, still making the same utility vehicles but now embracing the luxury car market through Range Rover.
But the high CO2 emissions of the cars was threatening to marginalise the cars. How could a 4×4 maker still survive in today’s eco-conscious world? We – and Land Rover – faced the distinct possibility that another famous British make could wither and die; another loss to the Britishness that were symbols of the nation.
But, like that other classic British marque Burberry, the famous clothing manufacturer, which has reinvented itself for the 21st century, so too is Land Rover.
There is the welcome news that there will be a baby Range Rover next year – a Range Rover that confronts some of the CO2 issues that so obviously bedevil the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport.
And we know that Land Rover is looking at electric versions and hybrids further into the future. Perhaps more importantly, there will be the truly alluring possibility of a Range Rover that will make a perfectly wonderful business car. Now that is a thought to savour.