In the electrification era, where performance and range become increasingly similar across brands, JLR is doubling down on identity across its multitude of brands.
According to Range Rover global managing director Martin Limpert, JLR’s “House of Brands” strategy – introduced in 2023 – will not only shape product portfolios but also sharpen how consumers perceive the Range Rover, Defender, Jaguar, and Discovery brands.
With new logos, new (and sometimes controversial) identities and a big gamble on where the future sees the JLR products in terms of market position, there has never been more at stake.
“We are a brand-led business now, even more than before,” Mr Limpert said. “With the House of Brands… as the brands, we define what the values are and then dial them up.”
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The need to amplify core brand values becomes increasingly urgent as iconic traits like V8 engines and mechanical complexity become less prominent.
“No matter how many other brands enter the market, [Britishness] is something we have to build and dial up,” Mr Limpert said. “We’re the first luxury SUV. So that’s, again, an asset that we want to build on.”
For Range Rover, that means refining its well-established identity of clean design, quiet luxury, and capability.
“The craftsmanship of execution… these are those values that we will be even emphasising further, because they are the core DNA of Range Rover,” said Mr Limpert.
Defender, meanwhile, is cautiously entering more premium territory. The new OCTA variant, for instance, sits at the high end of the price spectrum taking on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, raising concerns about potential brand overlap with Range Rover Sport. But Mr Limpert sees differentiation, not competition.
“If you take Defender primarily, it’s about adventurous driving, driving capabilities, really off-road, credible off-road capabilities and community building,” he explained. “While in Range Rover… it’s more about the refinement, the execution and the design.”
Jaguar’s reinvention will lean even further from tradition. Having caused a great deal of controversy with its new brand identity, a lot is riding on the brand’s success, which it aims to achieve by becoming more expressive, youthful, and art-driven.
“Jaguar is all about exuberance, modernism, really progressive… an environment where you have progressive people, arts, modern music, etc,” Mr Limpert said. “So again, talking to partly to a younger audience, more modernist and more expressive orientated audiences.”
Discovery remains in flux. Mr Limpert described it as the brand of “versatility” with a focus on family travel and leisure but admitted it’s still being reimagined.
Meanwhile, the model lineup beneath each brand is unlikely to expand significantly. When asked whether Range Rover might introduce lower-priced offerings to sit below the Evoque, Mr Limpert wouldn’t speculate.
“For now, [Range Rover and Range Rover Sport] are about refinement, sportiness,” he said. “And the Velar and the Evoque for now are about elegance and urban environments and addressing their respective audiences.”
Mr Limpert also confirmed that existing models, such as the Velar, will continue to be produced with ongoing updates.
The main challenge for JLR’s House of Brands will be their ability to carry their identities into the future without losing authenticity.
As an example, having ditched the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 for a BMW-sourced engine in its high-end variants, the Britishness of JLR is already under threat.
One need only look at Aston Martin as a perfect example of how such a move has affected its appeal, as its switch to Mercedes-AMG-sourced engines in some of its vehicles has eroded some of its appeal with customers.
Time will tell how well JLR will flourish with the inevitable pressures of platform-sharing, regulation, and mass-market EV competition. But positively, JLR seems committed to putting identity and brand before short-term profit.
