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Archive for April, 2010

iPhone Celebrates Land Rover and Rugby

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

First, it’s Land Rover’s website getting spruced up to excite its prospective clients, then you have rumours about new Rover products coming to market soon, if not later down the road. Then you have news about its excellent sale performance around the world, punctuated by a new management team with a new CEO right from GM’s European operations. Now you have Apple joining in the celebration.

The Guinness Premiership iPhone application, developed in association with the Jaguar Land Rover company of Tata Motors, is making a hit among mobile phone application users not only in the UK where the prestige road marques had its roots, but everywhere else that the iPhone is used. Now that means worldwide. Since its upload on the app store, it has over 62,000 downloads in 42 countries around the planet including Singapore, Saudi Arabia and United States. It had more than 40,000 download in the first six weeks after its launch alone and with 1107 downloads on Christmas day of 2009.

The hit phone application provides the latest live rugby news, result highlights, team news and developments and scores about one of the world’s most popular and competitive leagues right after the action wherever and whenever it happens. It is the Land Rover iPhone application that has now attained the position as the second most downloaded sports application as well as the 21st most downloaded general application from the iTunes store.

Rugby fans who are iPhone users have welcomed the downloadable application and its access to live news, hailing it as: “the best sports news app” and “a must for rugby fans”.

Harlequins and England star Ugo Monye has this to say about the downloaded apps on his iPhone. “A great introduction to the Guinness Premiership. It has everything a fan needs for keeping track of their team and the league as a whole. The live scoring works really well and I can guarantee you’ll see players using it as much as the fans.”

This is yet another marketing milestone that is sure to bring the Land Rover name to more people with incalculable promotional presence that could translate to future sales for the recovering SUV and sports car brand. This essentially cements Land Rover as the official vehicle of the Guinness Premiership.

It is clear that Jaguar Land Rover partnered with the Premier Rugby to identify the one service that can provide supporters “the ultimate rugby companion.” The current download statistics clearly that this service is a success in fulfilling that objective as planned. The statistical data not only provides clear testimony of the popularity of the sport but also the clever application design on the most popular mobile gadget on the planet.

Designed with rugby fans in mind, the Land Rover iPhone app can run on both on the iPhone and iPod touch which with their widest market shares, ensure that rugby fans around the world can enjoy free access to the sport’s live facts and figures. The Land Rover iPhone app is free so you can download it now.

Land Rover’s UK Marketing and Communications Manager, Mark Beamont has commented: “We are delighted to see how well received and popular the app is. We set out to provide dedicated rugby fans with a well designed and beneficial service so it is great to see the reaction it has had. We now hope that this latest innovation means that supporters with iPhones remain in touch with the Guinness Premiership wherever they may be.”

Find out more about it at carpages.co.uk

Tags: AppleiPhone, Land Rover, Rugby
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Land Rover Wins International Asian Business Award

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

In recognition of its excellent sales turnaround performance with consistent results, the Jaguar Land Rover Company has been conferred International Asian Business of the Year (UK) at the Asian Business Awards celebration held recently to honour the maverick businesses across industries in the Asian markets.

The company was singularly praised for its remarkable sales growth in both the domestic and foreign markets of India as well as for the sound investment made by the Tata Group which acquired the then ailing prestige British marques from the Ford Motors just two years ago in 2008. To say that its performance was stellar was more an understatement especially when one considers the difficult economic conditions of the times.

The remarkable and consistently steadfast progress that Jaguar and Land Rover has made in its selling efforts despite a local and foreign that was less than conducive is clearly evident from the posted $59 million in profits for the month of February 2010 – a 60% improvement from the previous 10 months that showed an aggregate 16% decline reflecting the height of the worldwide economic recession in 2009.

Its overseas operation was no less significant and is in fact a lot stronger as its global dealer posted remarkable sales growths as well. France had an 86% increase in Land Rover sales in France rose by 86% while those in Turkey grew by 162%. Even emerging markets in China showed sales doubling while sales in Brazil increased 75%. Land Rover sales in South Korea were likewise up 87% while in South Africa, sales got the most increases at 165% from the previous sales volumes. The more mature markets in North America showed a more modest gain at 18%.

Hosted by Eastern Eye newspaper, the annual Asian Business Awards forms part of the Asian Media & Marketing Group – UK’s largest Asian publishing house. They are considered the pre-eminent and most prestigious business awards that recognize and promote best practices and operating excellence across all industries dotting the business landscape in the emerging and stable Asian markets.

Simon Warr, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Jaguar Land Rover had this to say about receiving the award: “Jaguar Land Rover is delighted to be recognized as International Asian Business of the Year (UK) by the Asian Business Awards. Jaguar and Land Rover are brands that are recognized and admired across the world. Both have marvelous heritage, but they also have now a model line up that is the strongest ever. The reception to the latest generations of Land Rover’s Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport has been tremendous and there is already great excitement about a forthcoming new addition to the Range Rover family that will go on sale in 2011. Additionally, Jaguar’s all-new XJ is currently making news across the globe, building on the success of the XF sedan and XK sports cars.”

Now what else can be said when being praised by your peers? To find out more about it, visit the website lro.com.

Tags: Asian Business Awards, International Asian Business Award, Jaguar Land Rover, Land Rover
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Land Rover Gets Intuitive with a New Consumer website

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

There’s a new automobile website designed to delight both curious surfers and prospective customers with a truly unique online experience in choosing the car you want. It’s the new Land Rover website at landrover.com.

The British marque now owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Motors has launched the new state-of-the-art website with incorporate stunning images with a fresh intuitive design layout that enhances navigation through its pages to start with. Once in, you get a more interactive content and richer information on all current and forthcoming Land Rover products and accessories. The newly launched website lets your explore Land Rover vehicles online with unparalleled ease and interactivity.

Anthony Bradbury, marketing director for Land Rover UK has this to say about its new website: “We are seeing a shift in the purchase process, with more customers researching cars online with a visit to the dealership being the final step. Therefore, having a clear user friendly website is vital to help potential buyers access our class leading product line-up.”

What makes the new website a stand-out and fun to use is its ‘Build and Price’ section that configures any model you choose. Surfers and prospective clients can now customize a vehicle of their choice with styling details like wheels, interior colour trims and accessories, body colours, in tandem with other optional extras offered on specific vehicle models. The site features include a 360° viewing of the vehicle that allows you to see your customized Rover with detailed technical specification and a price calculator that itemizes each costed custom feature you’ve added to your personalized build in the summary page on the site.

Once done, these personally configured details can be shared with your friends on social networking sites or emailed to them, printed out as hard copies or sent to a local Land Rover dealer nearest you so you can arrange and schedule a test drive.

Right now, some of the ‘Build and Price’ pages are still “coming soon” in its website but this should be out soon. There are other features on its new site like drop-down pages featuring images of the many accessories for each featured model that can be expanded for more detailed viewing.

Just when most other websites are getting more sophisticated and user-friendly navigation and format presentation, car sites have been mostly left behind with bland static formats and this new Land Rover site aims to correct this impression.

It joins the e-commerce crowd that finally recognizes the new paradigm shift in sales that have people do their shopping right from the comfort and privacy of their homes. You still won’t be able to charge a Land Rover on your credit cards to shop for one online, but at least it is short of doing that.

With sites that allow consumers to do “what if” customization of their desired product, online consumers can have what they want sent to the nearest dealer and have it ready for a test drive. The new Land Rover website makes this possible. GP

Read more about the new Land Rover website at wheelsunplugged.com or you could try the website yourself at landrover.com.

Tags: e-commerce, Land Rover, Online Sales, Tata, Website
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Tata Takes Jaguar Land Rover to the Road of Recovery

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Amidst a worldwide economic recession, India is surging ahead with a super-fueled economy considered second only to China. Nothing is more evident of this than the sales performance of Jaguar Land Rover. It just posted $59 million in profits for the month of February.

Providing an encouraging swing to the recovery in global car sales, India’s Tata Motors reported its division selling luxury British marques Jaguar Land Rover sold 17,197 cars around the world in February. That’s a 60 per cent increase in sales for last month.

The previous 10 months in its fiscal year showed a 16% decline reflecting the dismaying economic slump in 2009, Land Rovers sales were up 62% at 13,905 in February alone, representing 55% higher at 3,292 units. A JLR spokesman confirmed that “This is the sixth consecutive month of improvement for Land Rover.”

Land Rover sales and Turkey at 162% higher. In other emerging markets, China sales doubled, while sales in Brazil increased 75%. Sales in Korea were up 87% South Africa rose to 165% from the previous quarters. In the meantime, the more mature North American and Indian domestic markets showed Land Rover sales up at 18% and 46%, respectively.

Tata Motors may have bought the Jaguar Land Rover marques but it continues to employ 8,000 people in the UK to assemble its cars in the West Midlands and at Merseyside and Halewood.

Senior management at Jaguar Land Rover recently reported the company’s first quarter profit since getting acquired from Ford Motors by Tata for £1.25 billion back in the summer of 2008. From October to December 2009, it enjoyed its first profits of £55 million, a stark contrast with the previous quarter losses of £60 million. On the other hand, its Jaguar XF sports car priced starting at £29,900 has garnered better popularity in the UK selling 992 units in the last ten months compared with 258 units in the 12 months prior.

The Jaguar Land Rover Company is currently overseen by Carl-Peter Forster, the new Tata Motors CEO who used to run General Motor’s European operations. The management team at Jaguar Land Rover also found a new head in the person of Ralf Speth.

Mr. Forster and his team have yet to decide on the fate of Jaguar Land Rover’s two West Midlands factories the UK which were earlier announced by the previous regime as slated for possible closure. Its business plans called for closing either Castle Bromwich which makes Jaguars, or its Solihull plant which makes Land Rovers.

Either way, Tata plans to offset either closure with 800 jobs to be created at Merseyside where the new LRX baby Range Rover is planned to be built. But it does leave a bad taste in the mouth that just when JLR is earning money, it would down close down historic factories that would lose thousands of jobs.

Moreover, Jaguar Land Rover’s finances got a boost last week with confirmation from the European Investment Bank that it will be at the receiving end of a £340 million research fund.

For more information, visit timesonline.co.uk

Tags: Carl-Peter-Forster, Jaguar Land Rover, Range Rover, Recession, Tata
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Jaguar Land Rover to Open Five India Dealerships

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Jaguar Land Rover is expanding its car dealerships in India. The Luxury marque inherited from the British and now owned by one of India’s largest conglomerate, Tata Motors, Ltd, will operationalize five more JLR dealers this year as it sees economic recovery soaring with sustained increase in the demand for its premium marque, particularly its SUV line in the Land Rovers.

JLR’s sport-utility and sedan vehicles are expected to sell 250 vehicles in India in the nine months of operation ending March 31 as disclosed by Rajiv Dube, president in charge of Tata’s passenger car sales in New Delhi at a recent event marking the launching of Jaguar’s second dealership in India. Mumbai had its first dealership inaugurated in June last year.

Dube is quite optimistic in saying that “Jaguar Land Rover being a thoroughbred British iconic brand would continue to hold an appeal for the Indian masses. The fact that these brands are not being made in India is itself an appealing factor.”

The new Indian dealerships are planned to open in the key cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Chennai, Dube said. There’s also a marketing plan to open a dealership in either Kochi or Pune, he further disclosed.

The world’s second fastest growing economy after China has earlier seen Jaguar, BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) as well as Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz boosting their marketing presence in India.

This happens as per capita incomes surge amidst a resurgent economy still reeling from the worldwide recession that is expected to end soon.

According to Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management Group and Capgemini SA, the number of wealthy individuals with more than $1 million in financial assets is likely to more than triple by 2018 from 84,000 in 2008. The optimistic outlook remains seems an observed reality despite the world recession that started that year.

The Land Rover marque had its pioneering all-terrain 4X4 vehicle in 1948 following WWII and a year after India won its independence from mother Britain. It is considered the precursor of current SUVs that have been the road going craze preferred by families and executives over sedans and station wagons for the last decade.

Jaguar, on the other hand, is a race-pedigreed luxury sports car that has roots dating back to the 1920s in the same league as Porsche and became famous for its E-Type released in the 1960s and considered one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

Tata Motors was founded in 1945 as an engineering company that built India’s locomotives. Its parent company eventually grew to cover other industries like telecommunications and computers. The conglomerate began to manufacture local indigenous cars like the Indica Hatchback towards the turn of the 21^st century. It bought out Jaguar Land Rover from the Detroit giant Ford Motor Co. in 2008.

For more information, visit businessweek.com

Tags: Car Dealerships, India, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata
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