Tata-owned British icon JLR is out for hunt with models assembled in India

India will supplement Range Rover's global production at its iconic manufacturing base in Solihull, which will also produce Range Rover's upcoming fully electric model

In the sultry heat of May, British luxury car brand JLR opened its doors to the first ever Range Rover House nestled in the 

quaint coastal town of Alibaug, off Mumbai.
 

The idea is to offer an immersive experience to people who would spend a day at the villa,  which has a luxe atelier (current trends in luxury fashion), fragrance lab (scents sourced from Darjeeling tea to Kashmir saffron), sound therapy, a design studio that shows the aesthetic considerations that go into making a Range Rover, and a bespoke studio for personalising a Range Rover.
 

In a show of commitment to India, JLR brought home the Range Rover House concept to India, where it now aims to double annual sales — 4,436 units in FY24 — in three years.
 

Since August 2022, when the first Range Rover House opened along a cove on the Pacific Ocean, California, the concept has spread across the world from the French Riviera to the Sydney Harbour. Geraldine Ingham, managing director of Range Rover, told Business Standard wherever these experiential houses have opened, there has been a spike in interest among consumers, and higher bookings.
 

Last month, JLR also started delivering the first made-in-India (assembled from completely knocked down units) Range Rover. Deliveries of assembled-in-India Range Rover Sport will start from the middle of August.
 

Assembling in India brings down the prices by Rs 40-56 lakh, depending on the variant. JLR decided to make CKD Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models in India to reduce the wait periods, in addition to bringing down prices, which brings them in the same bracket as Mercedes Benz GLS, BMW X5 and X7, and Audi Q8.
 

JLR had a global order book of 133,000 vehicles at the end of FY24, 76 per cent of which are for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Defender, indicating the popularity of the Range Rover portfolio.
 

“My focus is on India and the way forward is local manufacturing. Apart from the Defender, now our entire portfolio is made here (assembled as CKD units). This way we are closer to the market, the customer in terms of delivery timelines, and overall supply situation,” Rajan Amba, MD, JLR India told Business Standard recently,
 

JLR’s facility in Pune already makes Range Rover Velar, Evoque, Jaguar F-PACE, and Discovery Sport. Some models have a wait period of three to four months, some others of 12 to 15 months. Currently, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport have a seven- to nine month wait.


Right pricing
 

“It also makes sure that we get our pricing right for the market. The pricing (of these cars) would come down by 18 to 22 per cent or so. This brings us into a price bracket where we can appeal to a larger consumer base where we had potential but were not able to tap it,” Amba said, sounding confident that FY25 would also be a good year in terms of volumes for JLR.
 

JLR’s India business grew 81 per cent in FY24. At the same time, its order-book grew by 61 per cent. Around 80 per cent of these bookings are for Range Rovers.
 

“Over the last few years, India has witnessed steady and spectacular economic growth and is poised to grow consistently in the near future as well. This growth has resulted in tremendous opportunities to localise product offerings for the discerning Indian clientele,” said Lennard Hoornik, Chief Commercial Officer, JLR. He added the Indian clientele wanted to have personalisation, customisation, and without local manufacturing, “we really cannot play into that”.
 

India will supplement Range Rover’s global production in Solihull, which has been the iconic car’s manufacturing base since 1970. Solihull will also produce Range Rover’s upcoming fully-electric model, as well as the home for the company’s pinnacle ‘SV’ vehicles.
 

An auto analyst working with a global market intelligence firm pointed out, “One of the reasons I believe JLR is scouting for production sites outside of the European Union is that the United Kingdom and EU legislations around emissions may pose a challenge for producing ICE engines in that continent if one wished to comply with emission norms.” ICE stands for internal combustion engines.
 

In April last year, Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will officially rebrand to JLR for a brand overhaul ahead of the introduction of a family of new electric cars and sports utility vehicles.

 

Electric play
 

Tata Motors noted in its FY24 annual report that the new Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) and Jaguar Electrified Architecture will be introduced from 2025, as it moves to an electric-first business, with all its brands offering pure electric options by 2030. As part of this, its plants across the world will reconfigure themselves – Solihull will make electric Jaguars eventually, followed by converting Halewood in Merseyside, UK, as the first all-electric manufacturing facility. JLR’s plant in Nitra, Slovakia will be updated to produce electric vehicles by 2030.
 

JLR is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to FY20 baselines, and is working with partners and suppliers to reduce emissions by 46 per cent in its own operations and by 54 per cent per vehicle across its entire value chain.

Sources say Tamil Nadu is being considered as a production hub for both Tata Motors EV and JLR EVs for export markets. Tata Motors has not made any such announcements, but in response to Business Standard’s queries, the company said, “On March 13, 2024, Tata Motors Group signed a facilitation MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to explore the setting up of a vehicle manufacturing facility in the state. We are working on multiple options at this juncture and nothing has been finalised.” MoU is short for memorandum of understanding.
 

Meanwhile, JLR plans to bring six new EVs to India by 2030. Amba said, “We plan to bring six new EVs to India by 2030 starting with the Range Rover BEV coming next year. We already have 400 expressions of interest for a car which is coming only at the end of next year and no price is disclosed. The Range Rover brand thus is a crucial part of our success in India. We are going to continue our expansion and we will certainly leverage the synergies of the Tata ecosystem that we have today.”
 
 

ICE not totally broken
 

The fully electric vehicles, starting with the Range Rover around the end of next year, will be followed by the Range Rover Sport (EV) in the next few months, and the first new Jaguar will come in the second half of FY26.
 

“By 2030 we will have nine fully electric vehicles, and six of them will come in the next four years or so... Whether we phase out ICE or not we will have to see,” Amba said, alluding to the demand that ICE vehicles continue in the SUV range in India.

“Consumer behaviour is changing and it is important to keep an eye on this very closely. But, if one gives a product with a compelling proposition; there is no reason why the customer would not be interested. Let’s say if we give a range of 700 km, why will the customer not evaluate it? There is a lot of education that brands will have to do on the cost of ownership, and the benefits of EV,” Amba told Business Standard.
 

He pointed out that JLR India was also offering plug-in-hybrids. “We are doing plug-in hybrids and offering them to our customers in India. However, there is still a significant demand for ICE vehicles in India.”
 

The primary focus is on the products in demand: Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. “We want to make sure we maximise on the investments we made in Range Rover and Range Rover Sport,” Amba said.
 

Globally, the EU market has turned slightly sluggish. In China, where it has a joint venture with Chery, JLR sold around 106,400 vehicles in 2023, which is significantly less than the peak sales of 146,000 in 2017. However, JM Financial analysts highlight the continuing strong demand for JLR cars in North America.
 

India is still a small dot in JLR’s global scheme of things, but as Indians’ taste for luxury increases, things are looking up.

Sample this: In January realtor DLF said it sold more than 1,000 luxury flats in Gurugram for Rs 7,200 crore within three days of pre-launch. Mercedes Benz said 2023 was its best year in the Indian market . Audi’s 2023 sales went up by 90 per cent.