Carsales Staff•13 Jun 2014
NEWS
Jaguar Land Rover announces customisation service
New 'Special Operations' team takes a leaf out of Mercedes-AMG's bookJaguar Land Rover has announced overnight that it will establish a new service to cater for cashed-up clients wanting their Jaguar or Land Rover to be set apart from the standard cars.
Housing 150 staff, the Special Operations division is to be based in a technical centre located in England's West Midlands region. According to the press material from JLR, Special Operations "will focus on delivering halo vehicles, bespoke commissions, heritage products and branded goods."
If that sounds a lot like the mission statement for Mercedes-AMG, it's probably not a coincidence. The close liaison between Stuttgart and the small firm at Affalterbach has yielded impressive levels of profit and branding success in markets like the USA, Germany and Australia.
Halo vehicles are defined by JLR as cars modified to deliver uprated performance and dynamic ability, or vehicles kitted out for extreme luxury, or limited edition models built to mark special occasions. Bespoke commissions take the halo vehicle concept one step further, offering a comprehensive range of accessories, colours and trim materials – for customers who really want to stand out from the rest. And merchandising will be a significant side project for JLR Special Operations also.
Jaguar Land Rover is yet to confirm, but the 25th anniversary Discovery enhancements available to order now and due here before the end of the year are likely to be supplied by Special Operations.
"The creation of Jaguar Land Rover's Special Operations demonstrates our continued commitment to placing customers at the heart of everything we do," says JLR Chief Executive, Dr Ralf Speth. "This investment in exciting and desirable products will reinforce the global reputation of both Jaguar and Land Rover brands."
While John Edwards is the Managing Director for Special Operations, in day to day running the team will be led by Paul Newsome, recently of Williams Advanced Engineering. It will fall on his shoulders to build JLR Special Operations into a success of the kind outlined by Edwards, as quoted in the press release.
"As a business, we are completely focused on enhancing and personalizing the relationship our most discerning and enthusiastic customers have with our brands," said John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations. "By creating Special Vehicle Operations we can harness the very best talent and expertise Jaguar Land Rover has – to deliver exceptional products and services our customers will love for life."
The technical centre will comprise a customer commissioning suite for the bespoke services program and premium vehicle personalisation. Behind the welcoming customer service suite are flexible workshops and an automated paint facility. JLR also plans to open a heritage workshop at Jaguar's traditional home base in Browns Lane, Coventry. This facility, due to open from August 1, is tasked with building six lightweight E-Type models from the 1960s, and along with that high-profile project the heritage workshop will accommodate the team providing servicing and restoration services for older models.
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Jaguar
Land Rover
Car News
Performance Cars
Prestige Cars
Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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