China next stop for Jaguar Land Rover

JAGUAR Land Rover executives have confirmed the Indian-owned, British-based company will build cars in China for the Chinese market under a joint venture with Chery, which sells cars in Australia.

Under Chinese rules, the joint venture must also establish a domestic Chinese brand, but JLR says the priority is to establish manufacturing for its existing brands in the world’s largest car market.

Speaking with Australian media on the eve of the Sydney motor show last week, JLR global director of group sales operations Phil Popham said the cars built in China will be “exactly the same cars as we build elsewhere”.

While the 50:50 joint-venture with Chery has a board of directors “manned equally by Chery and JLR”, Mr Popham was adamant that JLR will have “total control” over the vehicles to be built under its prized Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

“Nothing that is Jaguar Land Rover is decided by anybody other than Jaguar Land Rover,” he said.

Seeking to quell speculation that the domestic Chinese brand would simply build re-badged JLR products, Mr Popham said the new brand “certainly will not be able to compete with Jaguar Land Rover”.

Left: Jaguar Land Rover's Phil Popham.



“In terms of its own brand and its own product range within that brand, (that is) still to be decided,” he said.

“The new brand is not the priority of our business the priority is to expand our operations in China for our branded products.”

Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern said the new brand must create its own identity.

“One thing they clearly don’t have is the authenticity, the heritage, which particularly for premium luxury brands is something that is very important to tap into.

“But you can create new brands. It’s more difficult, but if you create desirable products you can establish new brands over a certain period of time.

“I suppose we will have to help a bit on that. Don’t underestimate (China), look where they were 15 years ago and look at them now, so they will get there.”

JLR chief executive Ralf Speth told the BBC Land Rover will most likely build the Freelander and Evoque in China to begin with, leaving the British plant to focus on flagship products such as the new all-aluminium Range Rover.

Land Rover began assembling the Freelander from knock-down kits in India last year and has also investigated building a factory in Brazil, but changes to taxation laws in the South American country have reportedly hampered those plans.

The venerable Defender off-roader is built in several locations around the world including Britain, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan and Kenya, while the Freelander and Discovery are built in Britain and Jordan.