JLR tells banks about future plans to help UK suppliers get loans

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is taking the unusual step of giving banks detailed briefings about its expansion plans to ensure its UK suppliers receive a favourable hearing when seeking loans to buy new machinery.

JLR has issued more than £2bn-worth of supply contracts for the Range Rover Evoque to more than 40 companies in the UK

The initiative, led by operations director Alan Volkaerts, will see JLR set out the car components it expects to purchase to give banks reassurance that suppliers will be able to repay loans from the additional sales.

It has also emerged that Tata Capital, the corporate and consumer finance business operated by JLR's owners Tata Sons Limited, is evaluating building a presence in the UK market and may focus on backing advanced manufacturing companies.

Mr Volkaerts is due to brief 22 bankers operating in the Midlands within a fortnight about JLR's plans for expansion at its plant in Solihull and Wolverhampton, where a £400m engine plant is to be constructed.

The event has been organised by Paul Heaven from Blue Sky Corporate Finance as part of efforts by the Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership to improve finance for Midlands automotive suppliers.

"It is quite clear on their part what they want to achieve," said one person familiar with the bank briefing plans. "When the supplier goes into the bank and says we need to tool up, the bank and its bankers know about it.

He added: "It is something we should encourage more original equipment manufacturers [OEMs] to do. The OEMs being very clear about what their plans are will help suppliers secure finance."

JLR has issued more than £2bn-worth of supply contracts for the Range Rover Evoque to more than 40 companies in the UK. Under chief executive Ralf Speth and Tata chairman Ratan Tata, JLR is investing £1.5bn a year in new products and to drive production at its three Midland plants to 500,000 vehicles a year.

Tata Capital's plans are understood to be at an early stage but The Telegraph has learnt that its London office is in discussions with the Business Department about opportunities for its expansion into the UK.

Source: The Telegraph

Range Rover's Evoque surprisingly superb: MSN

2012 Range Rover Evoque

Hey, Land Rover isn’t following the rules!

You know, the rules for concept cars: a car maker rolls out a rakish design concept that sets hearts aflutter, then just as customers are prepared to rush into showrooms, checkbooks in hand, they pull a bait-and-switch by introducing a production model that is disappointingly prosaic by comparison.

Heads hanging, dejected customers trudge home without the cool concept car they had imagined themselves driving.

Well, Land Rover didn’t do this when it forged the Range Rover Evoque Coupe from the LRX concept vehicle that wowed auto show-goers who never anticipated they’d be in position to buy something just like it in short order.

Land Rover’s daring has earned the Evoque an avalanche of accolades, such as North American Truck of the Year, Motor Trend SUV of the Year, an Automobile magazine All-Star award, AutoWeek’s “Best of the Best,” Car Design of the Year, Scottish Truck of the Year, and so on.

Why? It isn’t every day that you can go to a dealer and buy a new car that swivels heads like you were driving with Scarlett Johansson standing through the sunroof with a wardrobe malfunction.

Sure, there are garish overreaches out there, like the Kia Soul and Nissan Cube. But they draw attention because of their unusual styling.

Of course, Range Rovers are already fashionable, so having a stylishly sporty compact head-turner will only accrue still more prestige to the brand, even though this new model has a lower price tag than the Range Rover Sport or the “real” Range Rover.

Land Rover’s heritage, of course, is of boxy off-roaders used to document endangered species in Africa for American television viewers, and of the later Range Rover, which is the unofficial vehicle of the horsey set. A line plotted from those two points does not arrive at the smoke-machine-and-strobe-lights fantasy that is the Evoque.

That’s fine. The Evoque isn’t meant for Land Rover devotees. It’s meant to bring in buyers who may want a little more elbow room or capability than they get in their current Mini Cooper or Audi TT. And a four-door variant might attract people currently driving a 3-series sedan or wagon. Maybe even the odd compact SUV owner who wants to upgrade in style but not in size.

The wheels are “only” 20 inches, but they look even bigger with the Evoque’s size and proportions. The squinty headlights are really high-intensity-discharge xenon lamps like on most premium cars, but bystanders would happily believe they are lasers.

The car I tested had the optional $650 white contrast roof. It’s probably striking on Evoques finished in bold primary colors, but it doesn’t contrast with the Stornoway Grey paint of our car. My wife thought it looked like the dealer had left the protective vinyl shrink wrap on the roof. I’d keep the cap and change the paint color to red.

Avoid scratching that paint by seeing everything around the Evoque with the five-camera surround view on the infotainment screen.

The dramatic styling is backed by a 240-hp turbocharged, 2.0-liter our-cylinder engine known elsewhere as a Ford Ecoboost.

As a sporty urban runabout, the Evoque excels, with taut, responsive handling unlike that of any previous Land Rover product. The Evoque uses magnetically adjustable shocks like those seen on Ferraris, Corvettes and Cadillacs to adjust between comfort and control on the fly.

Off road, well, it is still a Land Rover product, so break out your bush attire and head to the savanna to track endangered big cats. Or, with the Evoque’s adaptability, put on your best attire and head to Savannah, Ga., to sip seet tea on the veranda.

Here’s one aggravation though: The door hinges and seals seem unusually stiff, making it difficult to close the doors without slamming them. Maybe it’s the sealing needed for river fording that causes the problem, but if so I didn’t notice the issue with the full-fledged, $100,000 Range Rover I also tested recently.

With the coupe’s two doors at least the driver has control over closing half the car’s doors, leaving only one person to be reminded to slam the door. Even with large doors, the coupe still doesn’t have a wide enough opening to ease the difficult access to the unexpectedly spacious back seat.

The headroom in the rear of the Evoque is amazing, and other measures are also good, though legroom benefits from the low, unsupportive seat bottom that can leave back seaters feeling like they are perched on kids’ desks on back-to-school night.

The coupe packs style at the cost of some practicality, though the four-door version preserves a decent chunk of that style with a much bigger serving of utility. The Evoque seems positioned, with its turbo four-cylinder engine, to tout fuel efficiency as an advantage over competitors, but in a week of mixed driving I saw 18.5 mpg, a half-tick above the EPA city rating of 18 mpg and not in the same area code as the highway rating of 28 mpg.

Such may be the cost of the Evoque’s max-capability all-wheel-drive system, which is unmatched in the segment in off-road, bad-weather capability.

Ultimately, however, while extreme traction is Land Rover’s hallmark, the Evoque will win hearts with its dramatic styling and will probably keep them with its comfortable ride. The Evoque’s ability to wade into the valet line at the Ritz probably trumps its ability to wade into rivers.

There is no doubt that the Evoque is the most exciting entry in the premium compact crossover segment and may be the production model truest to its design concept since the Pontiac Solstice.

Vital statistics: 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe

Base price: $44,995 (including shipping)
Price as tested: $58,370
EPA fuel economy: 18 mpg city, 28 mpg highway.
Pros: Incredible traffic-stopping styling, honest-to-goodness Land Rover off-road capability, surprising cabin space.
Cons: $58,000 sticker price, 18 mpg is not impressive for a four-cylinder compact crossover.
Verdict: Exclusive fun.
Standard equipment: 240-hp. 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4, 6-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive with adjustable Terrain Response System, panoramic sunroof.
Major options: 20-inch sparkle finish wheels, surround camera system, navigation with voice control, xenon headlights, 825-watt audio system.
Safety equipment: front and side air bags, air curtain, driver’s knee air bag, electronic stability control, roll stability control, hill descent control, traction control, anti-lock brakes.

Source: The Bottom Line on msnbc.com

Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition revealed in Germany

2012 Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition

The British based manufacturer Land Rover has recently presented to the public the Defender Blaser Edition in Germany.

After teaming up with Blaser, Land Rover Germany has revealed a special edition of the Defender, named the Blaser Edition, which will be limited to just 60 units. According to the automaker, the Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition is based on the Defender 110 SE double cab and the model is painted in Keswick Green, coming with a trailer hitch, electric winch, expedition roof rack, grille guard, snorkel air intake, rear spot light, custom fitted gun case as a main attraction, Blaser logos on the front doors and spare tire cover, black leather seats with green stitching and the Argali logo embroidered in the headrests.

Under the hood, the Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition is taking its power from the company’s latest Euro 5 compliant, the 2.2 liter turbo diesel (with particulate filter) engine, which is developing a total output of 122 horsepower and it has a peak torque of 360 Nm (266 lb-ft). Land Rover says that the Defender Blaser Edition will debut at the largest European trade fair for hunting and fishing in Dortmund, “Jagd & Hund” (Hunter & Dog) on the 31st of January. Prices for the Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition will start at 49,500 euros.

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Source: INAUTONEWS

Spy Shot: 2013 Range Rover spied doing Winter Testing

2013 Range Rover

The Range Rover may be one of the most luxurious SUVs on the market today, but it’s also one of the most capable in rough terrain or inclement weather. The upcoming fourth-gen model is expected to be just as rugged, especially on snow-filled roads.

That’s exactly where it was recently snapped, which means development and testing should be coming to a close. The current-gen Range Rover has been with us for about a decade now, but most of us agree that it has aged well, at least in the styling department. We don’t expect Land Rover to deviate much from the classic two-box design with sharp lines. Rumor has it borrowing styling cues from the Evoque, its new and sleek smaller brother, which has been widely praised for its good looks. Our photographer even managed to snap some interior shots where hints of the Evoque are definitely evident.

More importantly, big changes are expected underneath the sheet metal, including an intensive diet plan estimated to shave almost 1000 pounds from its current curb weight of 5697 pounds; generous use of aluminum will account for most weight savings. Currently powertrain choices will likely remain the same, including a couple of turbodiesels, and naturally-aspirated and supercharged gasoline V-8s. Also rumored is some sort of hybrid. Expect more details to emerge closer to its launch, which is expected to happen this fall.

Interior of 2013 Range Rover

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Source: Motor Trend

The Introduction of the Jaguar XF SE Business and Sport

Jaguar XF 2.2D

Jaguar have launched two new XF models the SE Business and Sport.

The Jaguar XF SE Business model (starting at £31,500) is paired to the recently announced 2.2 litre (163ps) diesel engine. It adds satellite navigation complete with a seven inch touchscreen and HDD mapping to the standard spec which includes intelligent start stop, a 400W sound system with DAB digital radio, leather and suedecloth seats and bi-Xenon headlights

The Jaguar XF Sport (starting at £34,950) features the 2.2 Diesel 190 PS engine. The sport model features the full aerodynamic pack debuted on the Diesel S. This includes a revised front bumper, a black grille element, side sill extensions, a subtle rear boot lid spoiler and a black rear valance.

The interior features half leather suedecloth seats, bond grain trim and dove contrast stitch as well as electric driver and passenger adjustment. Piano black trim with 'Sport' decals on the centre console are joined by stainless steel foot pedals. Practical additions include a heated front windscreen and front seats, a front parking aid plus a reversing camera and 60/40 folding rear seats.

Both the XF SE Business and Sport model can now be ordered now from your local Jaguar Dealer.

Source: Car Pages