00:00Range Rover has unveiled its first fully electric model after a year-long delay to its planned
00:06launch. The Range Rover Electric will be manufactured in the UK, with parent company JLR saying
00:12it's up-skilled 10,500 workers in preparation for the rollout. Martin Limpert is the global
00:19managing director of Range Rover.
00:22Look, it was really important for us that this is a Range Rover first. So we invested
00:28all the time it needed, and we went through the most arduous testing and development program,
00:33four years of testing, several winter and summer seasons, to really make sure that our ambition
00:38of it to be a Range Rover first and electric second to really be delivered. No compromises
00:44on capability, highest levels of refinement, craftsmanship, calm sanctuary, quiet cabin,
00:50everything that our customers expected had to be more refined, and this is why we took
00:55the time it needed to make it a genuine Range Rover.
00:58Now, you have just ended 14 years of local manufacturing in China, so Range Rovers there are now imports
01:07only. Is that a retreat or the right call against local rivals like Aito, like Xiaomi?
01:17Now, we are absolutely committed to the Chinese market, and within our five years strategy of
01:23investing 18 billion pounds into our manufacturing plants, into our products, into our people,
01:29into our appearances in the markets. This was just one part of the entire refresh of our portfolio. We
01:35have a house of brand logic, where we have Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Jaguar. And for each of
01:42those brands, we have defined the strategies and the respective investments. And for Range Rover,
01:47it was really important for us to focus on the products, on the electrification of Range Rover,
01:53Range Rover Sport, the soon-to-be-launched Range Rover GT, which will be based on the EMA electric modular
01:59architecture platform. And that's why we ended up with the manufacturing footprint in the way it is as
02:05of now. It sounds very much like you're focused on innovation. And I'm wondering if that's redefining
02:12what luxury is to Range Rover, because rivals are winning buyers with tech-packed interiors rather than
02:21heritage and leather. Does Range Rover have to compete on those terms now?
02:29So first of all, obviously, we are observing what's happening in the marketplace. And of course,
02:33we're also looking into what's happening in the Chinese market with Chinese competitors.
02:38But more importantly, we're listening to our customers globally. And we have a very loyal
02:43customer base, especially when it comes to Range Rover itself. It's 50% within the brand and 70%
02:50within the Range Rover nameplate. So it's important to listen to what is important to our customers first.
02:55And they said, make this Range Rover electric, look like a Range Rover, feel like a Range Rover,
03:01drive like a Range Rover, behave like a Range Rover. And that's what we focused first on.
03:05Of course, digitalization, innovation. I mean, this car has more than 300 patents filed. So it's going
03:12to be the most innovative Range Rover ever in our history. Let's zone in then on what your customers
03:20want. I mean, how quickly do you think that buyers are really going to switch to electric? Because
03:26you're, you know, you're building alongside your petrol and your hybrid models. Is that a sign that
03:31you're, you're not banking on people switching soon?
03:36So it's part of our strategy, especially with the Range Rover, to have that flexibility of power
03:41trains, because I'm personally convinced electric power trains will be the dominant solution going
03:48forward. But at what time in what region of the world that tipping point will really happen
03:53is difficult to predict. So we are trying to give our customers a choice. There will be markets in
03:59regions like Northern Europe or Western Europe or the UK, where electrification will pick up faster
04:04and China, of course. And there will be markets where parts in the US or the Middle East, it will
04:10take
04:10longer. So we will give our customers a choice with our power trains. And because everything is being
04:16built here in Solihal, in our assembly line, all power trains, we will be able to flexibly respond to the
04:23demands of the individual markets and of the customers and provide exactly what is needed.
04:28That's the idea of our value focused business model.
