For Jaguar Land Rover, 2020 was a memorable year.
As the so-called ten years to sharpen a sword, this year is the tenth year that the Jaguar Land Rover brand has entered the Chinese market, and at the same time ushered in the milestone of sales exceeding 1 million units.
Looking at the world, the significance of the Chinese market to Jaguar Land Rover has long been self-evident. Jaguar Land Rover’s parent company, Tata Group, has also publicly stated that thanks to the strong growth of China’s auto market, Jaguar Land Rover has obvious signs of recovery.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Jaguar Land Rover achieved a 13.1% positive sales growth, which was not without the blessing of the Chinese market. Data show that in the fourth quarter of 2020, sales in the Chinese market rose by 20.2% month-on-month and increased by 19.1% year-on-year. It is worth mentioning that the Chinese market is also the only region in Jaguar Land Rover’s global market to grow against the trend.
Li Dalong, President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Joint Marketing Sales and Service Organization
The successive launch of new models is one of the factors that have boosted JLR’s sales in the Chinese market. "In the past year, the three models of the new Jaguar F-TYPE, the new Land Rover Defender and the Land Rover Range Rover have been very important to our success," Li Dalong, president of JLR China and Chery JLR’s joint market sales and service organization, said in an interview with The Paper.
Entering 2021, the achievement of one million units has become a thing of the past, and the significance of the Chinese market for Jaguar Land Rover is not only now but also in the future. "Chinese consumers are leading the world in many areas, such as new energy vehicles and digital development." Li Dalong said that in order to stand out in the luxury car segment in China, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to localize the brand DNA in the Chinese market while staying true to the brand DNA, and bring the preferences of Chinese consumers into Jaguar Land Rover’s design and production development.
The following is the transcript of the interview:
Surging News: In the past, Jaguar Land Rover’s competitor was the traditional ABB, but this year the market has changed, and new car makers have also entered the luxury car camp. How do you see the competition landscape in the future market?
Li Dalong:The luxury car competition landscape is changing, and the new power brand’s low price policy will have an impact on the high-end car market, but this is also the trend of the future. There are more and more new car companies competing very well. Users of the new power brand may not be a group of people like Range Rover owners, but we have to learn from our competitors. Like other brands, we are also building Jaguar Land Rover’s new energy vehicle strategy and models.
Surging News: The luxury car market is fragmented. In the future, what are the plans for the Jaguar Land Rover brand and product marketing? What are the strategies, strategies and layouts?
Li Dalong:As a luxury car segment, the most important thing is to stand out and not forget the original intention. Whether it is a Land Rover Defender, a Range Rover or a Jaguar F-TYPE, it is necessary to return to the original heart and stay true to the brand DNA. Our work focuses on the star model or flagship product to represent the brand to stand out.
Surging News: Jaguar Land Rover’s cumulative sales in China have reached 1 million, which is an important milestone for Jaguar Land Rover. How does Jaguar Land Rover plan for the Chinese market in the future?
Li Dalong:In the future, we still need to maintain stable and healthy growth. But we will not simply grow for the sake of growth. For dealers, we also need to ensure double growth, or sustainable growth, and ensure that the profitability of marketers increases while sales increase.
Looking at next year, there is no sign that the growth rate of the luxury car segment will slow down. In the short term, we still have to deal with the epidemic very carefully. Recently, there have been some outbreaks of the epidemic in northern China, and more importantly, it depends on the outbreak of the epidemic in the UK and Europe, which will affect the supply of vehicles and parts. At present, vaccines are available in many countries around the world. When spring or summer comes, I hope that all countries can return to normal. Due to strong internal factors, China’s economic growth is very strong. China is also a large exporting economy. After the global economy recovers, China’s economic growth will be even stronger. Therefore, we are very confident about the luxury car segment in China.
Surging News:Jaguar Land Rover has achieved 1 million sales in China in 10 years. The reflection of Jaguar and Land Rover in the Chinese market is different. People prefer the Land Rover brand and see more Land Rover brand cars on the road. What are the plans for the operation of the Jaguar brand in China in 2021, or in the longer term?
Li Dalong:My job is also to let Chinese consumers better understand the Jaguar brand, its performance, including its handling, which also has very good highlights. We need to ensure that the Jaguar brand is personalized and outstanding.
In 2020, we launched the new Jaguar F-TYPE, and soon we will launch the new Jaguar F-PACE, which is also a very important model. Once the Jaguar F-PACE was launched, it won the 2017 World Car of the Year and World Design Car of the Year awards. The new Jaguar F-PACE not only has a more dynamic and beautiful appearance, but its biggest highlight is the improvement of the interior quality, vehicle interconnection, including InControl OS 2.0 and SOTA Firmware Over-The-Air, but also equipped with the Intro 3.0-liter dual-supercharged engine and 48-volt light hybrid system. The driving experience of the Jaguar F-PACE is also outstanding, and I believe it will be appreciated and loved by Chinese consumers. This year, on the basis of the launch of the two new cars just mentioned, we hope to continue our efforts and introduce more new products.
Surging News: Jaguar Land Rover is currently more focused on fuel vehicles. As an enterprise, is there any need to adjust this ratio?
Li Dalong:Jaguar Land Rover has a clear new energy strategy, and it is also the first traditional luxury car company to officially propose to carry an electrification system in all models. We will definitely produce more new energy vehicles in the future. Jaguar I-PACE is the world’s first pure electric luxury SUV officially launched on the market. We have also launched the plug-in hybrid version of the Range Rover Sport P400e on the market, and found the sports version P300e. Now many models are also equipped with mild hybrid systems. In the future, we will bring more new energy models to you.
Surging News: In terms of intelligence, China’s intelligent suppliers have made some designs that consumers can see, or things that make consumers feel deeply, which are more in line with the needs of the Chinese people than foreign suppliers. Have you considered cooperating with Chinese suppliers to give us a leading advantage in the field of intelligence?
Li Dalong:Now we have launched the new InControl OS 2.0 system, which is standard on the Land Rover Defender, and will be rolled out to other models in the future. This configuration can make our car owners more intelligent and intelligent. We will continue to innovate to meet the growing demand for ADAS intelligent driver assistance systems or digital connectivity.
In the 10 years since Jaguar Land Rover entered China, we have also done a very significant job. For example, our procurement and engineering development have also been localized, which is to understand the needs of China and keep up with the speed of China. For example, if our car is only equipped with Apple CarPlay, it will not meet the needs of Chinese consumers. Therefore, we combine the opinions and needs of the local development team and feed back into our global vehicle development to meet the needs of Chinese consumers.
The newly appointed CEO Thierry Bolloré attaches great importance to the Chinese market. He has worked and lived in China for 5 years and especially likes Shanghai. Therefore, he has an essential understanding of Chinese consumers and our requirements are to quickly meet the needs of Chinese consumers and respond quickly to changes in the Chinese market.
Surging News: Now that the Chinese market has accumulated sales 1 million, what considerations and plans will Jaguar Land Rover’s DNA make in the localization of the Chinese market?
Li Dalong:With my knowledge of Chinese consumers and insights into the Chinese market, I believe that Jaguar Land Rover’s DNA is deeply loved and understood by Chinese consumers. We need to adjust our product portfolio to better meet the needs of Chinese consumers, which is why we have a team of local engineers in China, who can help global design and development teams better understand the needs of the Chinese market.
Chinese consumers lead the world in many areas, such as new energy vehicles and digital development, so we must keep up with the speed, keep up with the trend, and bring the Chinese consumer trend into our global team. Whether it is a domestic car or an imported car, it is especially important to ensure that the needs of Chinese consumers can be met, even the very small details, such as the second row space, the smell of the new car, the weight of the steering wheel, the comfort of the seat, etc., so we must bring the preferences of Chinese consumers into the design and production development of Jaguar Land Rover.
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