Land Rover Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Dover introduces the Freelander Kensington concept and the Kalahari concept
Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the Green Oval day at the Ford Motor Company Piazza. And welcome to the Freelander North American launch. Yes, finally, a Freelander in North America.
As I think you may know, Freelander is currently the best-selling sport-utility vehicle in Europe. And when Freelander goes on sale here in the fourth quarter, it will quickly become the best-selling Land Rover in North America.
Freelander is the first new Land Rover model line to be launched in the U.S. in seven years. It is a clever, small sport utility vehicle, one that will create an entirely new segment in the North American market.
Indeed, just as Range Rover created the luxury sport-utility segment in the U.S. back in 1987, Freelander will create the premium, small sport-utility segment - a segment targeted at enthusiasts.
This vehicle, with its breadth of capability on-road and off-road, will speak to enthusiasts. It will speak to customers who appreciate light and quick European responsiveness and true, go-anywhere capability. In North America, it will define the segment.
As many of you know, Freelander was launched in Europe in late 1997 - and has been the market leader ever since. What you might not know is how much the vehicle has been improved over time. The 2002 Model Year Freelander, the one we will launch in the U.S. late this year, will be more than 70 percent new compared with the 1997 model.
The changes include a new powertrain, extensive chassis improvements, NVH improvements, an overhauled interior and higher equipment levels across the range - and for the first time, on a Land Rover product, North American-sized cupholders! Now, from the start, Freelander has presented buyers with a huge span of capability both on- and off-road. The new V6 engine - with additional power and torque - stretches the capability in both directions.
The extremes of Freelander's performance are personified here by these concept show vehicles. We call them Kalahari and Kensington. They were developed by Land Rover Special Vehicles, and they reflect how the V6-powered Freelander is faster and more confident on road - and at the same time stronger and more capable off-road.
The production North American Freelander will have a 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter V6 engine as standard equipment. This compact, light and strong 24-valve engine features variable induction and quad overhead cams.
Standard equipment will include:
- A five-speed Steptronic transmission
- Four-wheel Electronic Traction Control
- Land Rover's patented Hill Descent Control
- And electronic brake distribution.
- Plus, of course, all the mud and guts and toughness that is Land Rover.
Freelander will be launched in the fourth quarter, with the five-door model. We will offer two trim levels: one cloth, one leather. And the price will start under $30,000.
As we move forward from here, our commercial task is to not only successfully launch Freelander in North America - a market well known for being the most competitive in the world, but to better tap the potential here.
In this competitive market, Land Rover sold 27,148 vehicles in 2000. Worldwide, Land Rover finished with more than 170,000 sales.
We will increase this number. In fact, in the U.S., in calendar year 2002, we intend sell 20,000 Freelanders. Combine that with existing Range Rover and Discovery Series II sales, and North America will become the largest Land Rover market in the world.
Land Rover is a global company. We sell vehicles in more than 140 markets around the world. But we must grow in the world's two largest SUV markets - North America and Japan. And we're addressing that right now. Today's introduction is the first step.
In Japan, the Freelander goes on sale next month. By year end, Freelander will finally be in every major market of the world, leading to a boost in Land Rover production numbers. When my team and I took over Land Rover in July, we became the first management group since 1987 dedicated to the Land Rover business, and only the Land Rover business.
So what have we done so far? We immediately set about prioritizing our tasks.
- Number One: improve our quality.
- Number Two: improve our manufacturing processes using lessons learned at Jaguar.
- Number Three: improve the way we connect with our customers.
- And Number Four: increase and enhance the training of our employees worldwide.
We have already made huge strides in further improving the quality of our current products being built at Solihull, where we will complete an 18-month, $200 million investment program by the end of this year, and that's just hardware investment in the plant itself. As part of a comprehensive training program, some line workers are getting experience in other Ford and Premier Automotive Group factories. Our workers are learning best practices and seeing firsthand just how well vehicles can be built.
Further, every single Land Rover employee worldwide is undergoing hands-on training in new processes and in the product, including off-road driving. We do this because once you drive a Land Rover off-road, you go from being a brand advocate to a brand militant. We call it Dipped In Green.
But the intrinsic strength of Land Rover is not the factory. And it is not production numbers. Land Rover's strength is in a brand and a heritage bred by 53 years of exclusively building four-wheel drive vehicles.
Howard Mosher and his team in the U.S. have done an excellent job with Land Rover Centres - stand-alone retail outlets, now 85 strong in the United States. And there are another 20 in the pipeline. Centre employees are trained to become 4x4 authorities by our unique Land Rover University. They also become experts in customer handling - not just before and during the sale, but after the sale as well. We call it The Land Rover Way. The Land Rover Centre concept has led to a step change in sales satisfaction with our customers. We now score near the top of the industry. In fact, it works so well we are taking the Centre concept right around the world.
We have a few words we use to describe Land Rover: Adventure, Authenticity, Guts, Supremacy. We will protect them. We will develop new products with those characteristics. We will investigate new technologies, new processes, new vehicle strategies and new components. We will grow and grow quickly.
If you take the passion of our Land Rover militants, and combine that with Ford's expertise: expertise in quality, productivity, processes, research and purchasing power, the opportunities are incredible.
Our focus is sharp: The North American market - under the direction of Howard Mosher - will be the centerpiece of growth. And Freelander will spearhead this drive.
