The striking new Land Rover Discovery 3 sports a new look and new image and, despite recent bad publicity, the marque’s local subsidiary is gearing up for large-scale change.
The striking new Land Rover Discovery 3 sports a new look and new image and, despite the recent bad publicity, the marque’s local subsidiary is gearing up for large-scale change.
Thomas Viehweg, the head of Ford’s local Premier Automotive Group division, announced the model’s new brand slogan – “Go Beyond” – and outlined the company’s new brand direction at the launch of the exciting new model.
He also pointed out that the frustration voiced recently by a Cape Town businessman in a half-page newspaper advert was not reflective of the current corporate mindset at Land Rover SA. Viehweg said the recent run of bad press has been regarded as a “wake-up call to up communication and service”.
He added that the sales and technical teams responsible for the new model had been training since June 2004 and were equipped to deal with most customer queries.
Following the preference for more luxurious models that maintain high levels of robustness, Land Rover has embarked on a brand shift to capture the marque’s “spirit of adventure”. To address the company’s brand challenges for 2010, it is envisioned that the line-up will create a more modern Land Rover image and mindset.
This will be seen with the facelifted top-of-the range Range Rover, which arrives in June, and will move up a segment as part of the brand’s repositioning.
Although stress will be laid on its heritage, Viehweg aims to establish Land Rover as a market leader rather than just as an original pioneer. With the monumental growth in active lifestyles, more user-friendly 4×4 characteristics have been adopted while retaining the essentials.
The power-hungry who have been following the developments of the radical Range Sport, will be pleased to note that its local arrival has been scheduled for September or October 2005. A brand-new Freelander, the entry-level range in the Land Rover line-up, will become available in 2007.
