Land Rover brand to be dropped in restructure

Nothing stands still. Not so long ago, every shoot up and down the country would have had a few Land Rovers in the mix and it was the keeper’s truck of choice, but as The Vapors sang in 1980, it’s been “turning Japanese” for a while. Hilux and Isuzu are now the order of the day, and it has been announced that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the parent company, is to cease production of ‘Land Rover’ branded cars altogether. (Read more on the Land Rover here.) 

Land Rover was born in the post-war period when the nation was fighting to establish itself on the global automotive stage. Since then, however, things have changed and lots of their offerings have come to be seen as outdated. Richard Negus, hedgelayer and ST contributor, described his Defender ownership as “cold, expensive, and wet”. He continued that apart from waving at other Land Rover users, there’s nothing a Defender can do that an Isuzu can’t. 

Aficionados will be pleased to know that while Land Rover is being dropped as a marque, JLR will continue to make vehicles under the brand names Range Rover, Defender and Discovery. JLR has said it will be a “house of brands” and will phase out internal combustion engine models. 

One gamekeeper recently told ST that not too long ago, you could tell a proper shooting man because he drove a Defender. These days however, “when we see a chap turn up in a new one, we always think, ‘Here comes a pretender in a Defender.’” 

Brexiteers will be disappointed to hear that the battery-making plant for JLR is likely to be sited somewhere in Europe rather than Warwickshire, where Land Rover began as a bicycle factory.