PARIS SHOW: Land Rover puts environment in perspective

2010 Paris Motor Show News Special

One marque synonymous with environmental issues -- for all the wrong reasons -- has been Land Rover. The British off-road brand, now owned by Indian corporate giant Tata, is still leaving deep, rutted wheel tracks in national parks, and that's not likely to change.

But these days there's a broader environmental matter at stake than soil conservation -- there's climate change. Famously described by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as the "greatest moral challenge of our time", global climate change is changing the ground rules at Land Rover. It is, however, a question that needs to be addressed with some sensitivity, because Land Rover is committed to staying in touch with the aspirations and expectations of its customer base.

As an example, would Land Rover consider a compromise four wheel drive solution, such as the Lexus RX 450h to meet changing emissions and fuel consumption targets? Land Rover Managing Director Phil Popham skirted the question with an observation that some car companies market four-wheel drives that are not true off-roaders.

"One thing we won't have is a car with a handbook that tells the customer not to drive offroad... that will not be part of the brand DNA."

Yet the "brand DNA" must change with the times, but it's something of a 'Ker-plunk' scenario. Remove one too many of the brand's supporting straws and the customers will walk. Furthermore, accommodating environmentalists is not just a threat to off-road ability, it's a threat to market appeal if it comes at the expense of purchase price or running costs.

"Research that we've done is that not many people will pay just to be green," said Popham. "They may be very conscious of it, they do expect... to improve fuel efficiency, but they're not willing to pay for that technology."

Those are the known buyer demands too. There are other issues in developing a new car for global markets, which can be related to marketing as well as individual product traits (styling, dynamics, comfort, etc). For car manufacturers, the degree of difficulty multiplies once the company begins looking for markets beyond its own shores.

"To be a global brand, you've actually got to deliver and manufacture vehicles that people want, around the world," said Popham. "There are cultural differences, there are consumer trend differences around the world, there [are] legislative differences, which makes it more complex... and one of the clear focuses has to be the environment... whether that's expressed in cost of ownership, gas mileage in the US, through to CO2 regulations in Europe -- or whether it's just people's general awareness and concern about the environment...

"The end game is about making more fuel efficient cars."

In Paris for the motor show, Land Rover unveiled the new Range Rover Evoque, a vehicle that is, by Land Rover standards quite small -- and unprecedented too in offering front-wheel drive variants. The compensation for those traditional Rover buyers who find it hard to face such a vehicle from their beloved brand, is that it's very frugal to run and addresses both the environmental Zeitgeist and the brand image.

"I think Range Rover Evoque really makes a significant step-change once again... less than 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer emissions in two-wheel drive form, less than 140 in four-wheel drive."

A significant contributing factor in the Evoque's low emissions rating is its relatively light weight. Land Rover is concentrating its resources on reducing weight for other models too. The company expects to pull more than 420kg out of the next Range Rover model, which will boost fuel economy without detracting from performance. From a prestige brand that can charge a little extra to use more exotic materials in vehicle production, lighter weight needn't mean future Rovers won't be capable of going off-road, says Popham.

"We will, in the future, continue to make more fuel efficient vehicles, we will continue to take weight out of the vehicles, but we won't actually compromise what we believe is our unique selling proposition -- and that's having the greatest [off-road] capability of any brand in the world."

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