Jag ua r L a n d R o v e r
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It’s a big year in South Africa for Jaguar and Land Rover, with the arrival of the new Jaguar XJ and major updates to the Land Rover stable. Exciting times, Jaguar Land Rover’s Andy Goy tells Colin Chinery. 2
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Jaguar Land Rover FEATURE
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aguar the Big Cat has a famous and exceptionally powerful bite. Adversaries beware. And from September the new Jaguar XJ from the English West Midlands will be purring on the South African start line; in its sights the Mercedes S-Class, traditional industry niche leader and Jaguar foe.
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It’s more powerful the XJs of old; economical, more stylish inside and dynamic to drive. And the new XJ’s poise and attitude has auto critics in raptures – “Never been a better reason for buying British,” returned one flattery-immune veteran in this, Jaguar’s 75th anniversary year. “It’s attracting a lot of attention and we are really excited about this, says Andy Goy, Jaguar Land Rover SA’s 41 year old Englishborn Sales and Marketing Manager. “In design it’s quite a radical departure from where XJ has been over the past 20 years. It modernises the Jaguar brand, the last piece of the Jaguar puzzle to come together in terms of producing beautiful fast cars, which is Jaguar’s philosophy. “We did that with the XK first, - which is doing very well here - then the XF, and now with the XJ replacement we are really moving the brand on from a modernity
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Land Rover partners with Conexus to connect with more than 5000 customers across Africa per month. The Conexus Call Centre contacts Land Rover customers post transaction (sales or service) to share their experience. Individual customer concerns are immediately escalated and managed by Conexus for timely resolution, thus enabling superior Land Rover customer relations.
as well as luxury point of view. I think it positions the Jaguar brand very nicely in the South African market.” The XK is the sports tourer; “incredibly popular in South Africa” reports Goy. “We’ve got a large share of that particular segment here. It’s a very classy and sporty Jaguar and I think particularly appeals to those living perhaps in the Cape Town area where you’ve got top-down motoring opportunities and beautiful roads.
Connecting Land Rover with their Customers Conexus conducts 5 000 telephonic interviews with Land Rover drivers across Africa every month. Connecting Land Rover with their customers, Conexus gathers quick and detailed feedback to ensure superior Land Rover service and an enhanced customer experience.
www.conexus.co.za | +27 11 275 7000 | info@conexus.co.za
“We’ve recently introduced the XF and that’s going very well. This is the executive saloon part of the equation, competing against Mercedes E Class and so forth. Again its hit the mark very well in South Africa, very popular in both diesel and petrol versions.” Now the concluding Ace - the new XJ with says Goy, its CEO appeal. “It’s very much a luxury saloon but with a Jaguar edge to it. It’s got the beauty and the passion you associate with Jaguar plus the sporting prowess you might not associate with a luxury saloon.” Following a huge R&D spend, the last 18 months has seen Land Rover, world renowned manufacturer of premium 4x4’s, bringing a series of very major updates to the product line. “Effectively an all new Discovery 4, a very substantially revised Range Rover Sport and the same with Range Rover.
“We operate very much at the top end with a high premium brand position in South Africa. We are seen as the authentic and authoritative 4x4 company, and the Discovery is held to be the ultimate premium luxury ‘go anywhere’ 4x4.” Goy says the South African market is “incredibly important for Land Rover in particular. We are a significant player from a global volume point of view in terms of Discovery and Defender sales. “Its one of those markets where I think the brand fits perfectly. You’ve got a genuine need in many occasions to have a 4x4 both for off road and frankly in some of the on road conditions. The nature of the South African people tends to be adventurous and activity based, so the Land Rover and Range Rover range is an www.southafricamag.com
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Andy Goy, Jaguar Land Rover SA’s Sales and Marketing Manager
Jaguar Land Rover Financial Services is the finance alliance between vehicle and asset financier WesBank and Jaguar Land Rover SA. Under the new agreement WesBank provides wholesale and funding the the JLR dealer network and vehicle finance products to prospective customers. The alliance is a good growth opportunity for both businesses as well to ensure they stay relevant and accessible to their customers
ideal fit for the typical lifestyle of the South African consumer.” And there is a brand new Range Rover coming over the hill - name currently under wraps - and based off the LRX Concept - the most compact Land Rover to date. Its size complements a wide array of efficiency improving breakthroughs in the form of Land Rover’s e-terrain technologies including biofuel compatibility and lightweight construction materials.
“We are very excited about this. It will not go on sale until 2011 but we shall start showing it to the public later on this year. And that really takes us into a brand new segment, one we’ve never operated in before. “It will appeal to those who perhaps have a two seater sports car but who for family reasons or needing to upsize, want to move into something a bit bigger. “It will retain much of the Range Rover off road prowess with which we are associated, as well as a lot of Range Rover luxury. Overall it will bring a new breed of customers into the Range Rover brand and 6
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probably take our volume up by about 2030% in this market place.” While overall cross-brand sales dropped in 2009, there has been a major uplift since the last quarter, coinciding with the new products launch - Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover. “We expect to see a 20% uplift in sales right across the range in 2010 as against 2009. Put this in the context of the forecast 12% growth in the South African automotive market in 2010 and we are well ahead held back only by supply constraint. At the moment we are struggling to provide the volume of cars customers are demanding.” The next generation of small Land Rovers is expected to deliver around 60mpg through the use of JLR’s new ERAD (electric rear axle drive) system, a diesel electric hybrid that does not lose out on four wheel drive capability. But the research does not stop at the engine; it reaches into every area of automotive technology, from the transmission and clutch systems through to www.southafricamag.com
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the use of fly wheels to recapture the energy used in braking. “We’ve invested £700 -£800 million in environmental technology and made enormous strides over the past two years in terms of environment and CO2 improvement. “We’ve got a Freelander update which further takes another 10% off the diesel emissions, and coming through over the next two-three years products which again will dramatically shift the CO2 position and over-achieve what many may think a Land Rover and Range Rover can attain from a CO2 position.” As a group Land Rover takes its corporate social responsibility very seriously, taking part in projects such as the rural schools literacy programme ‘Rally to Read’ along with companies such as leading auto retailer McCarthy. In a country with an estimated 800,000 crashes a year and 16,000 8
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road fatalities (1,600 in Australia) the Road Safety Foundation is another and natural-fit Land Rover-backed project. “In South Africa there’s still a certain lack of discipline in the ways pedestrians interact with the road network. You wouldn’t expect to see lots of people crossing the M1 in England, but this scenario is all too common in South Africa.” Not that Goy, four months after arriving here, is missing the M1. “I absolutely love it in South Africa. Foremost I’ve been absolutely astounded by the friendliness and openness of the people. It’s been a very easy transition for me and my family “Then there’s the weather, it always makes you feel better in the mornings when you get up and the sun is shining. And of course there’s the variety and beauty of the country and the incredible wild life. Yes, you can say I’m settling in very well.” END
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