Land Rover isn’t solely just about producing the attractive, the sleek and the luxurious cars anymore. They have taken into consideration what good their manufactured vehicles could do for the environment. They have looked into a more environment-friendly approach in terms of producing vehicles and have actually taken steps to pursue their plans. With focus on sustainability in relation to Land Rover’s marketing plans, they have recently launched a string of full-page press advertisements in relation to their think green plans. These full-page press ads run through its green credentials by giving a clear description of the four different areas the company is focusing on when it comes to reducing the impact on the environment. The four different areas are as follows:

1. develop a technology which is environmentally friendly
2. sustainable manufacturing practices
3. striking a balance with the carbon emissions of the new vehicles
4. get involved with humanitarian projects and such by donating to conservation and humanitarian projects

Global brand marketing director, Julian Whitehead, had been picked out to be the director of sustainability and social responsibility. He explains that his main task is to be able to come up with strategies that would make sure it would meet the challenges the present condition of the environment has imposed. Aside from that, his job is to see to it that their marketing messages are fitting to the flow of the current market.

To keep up with their new green campaign, Land Rover is taking into account releasing a Freelander 4×4 which would be thirty percent more economical. To give one little detail about the planned Freelander 4×4: It is to say that they are mulling over introducing a battery-powered version of the previously mentioned car.

source: Marketing Week

The 2008 Range Rover gets even better. In this new model, the word “power” is given a completely new meaning. Its supercharged engine makes it possible to enhance power, thus giving better car performance. With this kind of engine, there is more torque during low speeds. A lower heat output and improved emissions are also evident. The engine of this 2008 Range Rover has a belt-driven supercharger which pushes the combination of air and fuel straight into the engine. The result? Instant response and output, all due to an engine which is compact and lightweight.

Land Rover offers two choices of engine power: The Range Rover HSE V8 engine and the Range Rover Supercharged V8 engine. The HSE V8 engine houses a 4.4-litre V8 and provides a remarkable 305 horsepower. With this type of engine, the driver is given flawless acceleration. The Supercharged V8 engine, on the other hand, is the most powerful, the fastest Range Rover engine that has ever been made. With a 4.2-litre, 400-hp Supercharged V8, torque is delivered with ease. Its towing capacity of 7,716 pounds is just as impressive as its payload capacity of 1,136 pounds.

The 2008 Range Rover has a seating capacity of five adults. Some of the features it includes are the electric 4-Corner Air Suspension (4CAS), the nine-airbag Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) and the Bi-Xenon headlights which gives a broader beam of light, assuring the driver and passengers of exceptional night time visibility. Its audio system is a 710-watt, 14-speaker Harman/Kardon LOGIC7. This model also comes with a colored touch screen DVD-based GPS satellite navigation system.

The styling of the exterior is not to be left out. The new Range Rover has the classy black and white Land Rover badging placed on its grille, tailgate and the steering wheel. The 20-inch wheels made of alloy comes with full-size spare. Each of the tire’s pressure is monitored constantly, even the spare tire. A warning is given once the pressure in any tire drops 25 percent below the suggested amount of tire pressure. This warning helps in reducing the risk of having tire failure in the middle of driving. 

Only the Supercharged model comprises of a sport-designed stainless steel accelerator and brake pedals. Its instrument panel is made special as well, placed with the “Supercharged” badging on the tachometer and bright needle indicators. Some of the changes for improvement are the four-zone air-conditioning and the re-designed rear seat armrest. With the enhancements thoughtfully implemented this Range Rover’s supercharged engine makes it is easy to see why the 2008 Range Rover is claimed to be “the fastest Range Rover ever made.”

Source: Consumer Guide Auto

Land Rover has begun their recruitment for their 2008/09 Land Rover G4 Challenge, where the Challenge Finals are anticipated to take place in Asia over a three-week long challenge and adventure. Said event is supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. With this partnership, Land Rover will be donating a vehicle of their own to the national Red Cross or Red Crescent Society related to the winning team. The Land Rover G4 Challenge will be aware of the environment, keeping the event environmentally sensitive with a fully carbon offset by way of using Climate Care.

The Challenge Finals will comprise of two teams of competitors, each from the 18 nations which will compete for victory.  It will be a series of tests which will assess driving skills, ingenuity, tactical thinking, and of course, physical endurance. Some of the activities which will be included aside from off-road driving are abseiling, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, and orienteering. There will be a change to this year’s Challenge Finals: Each country will have two competitors – one male and one female – and each team will have their own national vehicle. This will increase the number of participants to twice its previous count. Not only that but it will also promote a healthy sense of national element among the competing teams. There will be a total of 18 teams anticipated to take part in the 2008/09 Land Rover G4 Challenge. The countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden/Norway, Turkey, UK, and

USA. Land Rover will use all kinds of their vehicles for the event. The line-up includes the Discovery 3, Defender, Freelander 2, Range Rover, and Range Rover Sport.

With the new global partnership involved, said event will make certain that the 2008/09 Land Rover G4 Challenge will leave behind a positive legacy. While generating funds for humanitarian projects which can change lives for the better, it will also help raise public awareness. According to Phil Popham, the Land Rover Managing Director, the Land Rover G4 Challenge is “an incredible program that demonstrates our products’ breadth of capability and displays our desire to always push the boundaries of adventure. It is ideal to work as a fundraising and awareness building platform for a humanitarian organization and we are delighted that we can now make the most of the Challenge’s success and leave a lasting positive legacy by working with the International Federation.”Source: Yosax.com

“The LRX concept delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles.” This is what Phil Popham, the managing director of Land Rover, had said about Land Rover LRX concept. This new Land Rover concept was made known to the public during the North American International Auto Show (Detroit Auto Show). The Land Rover LRX boasts not only of keen attention and care to details – from the exterior to the interior and everything else in between – but of being able to regard the environment as well.

The cross-coupe, three-door vehicle makes it easy to see how it deals with today’s fast-paced, ever-changing needs. Boasting of environment-conscious features, it is just as sporty as the Range Rover Sport and its compact size makes it smaller than the Freelander. Land Rover LRX is 140 mm shorter than the Freelander 2 and is 205 mm lower. (The Freelander 2 is currently the smallest car among the Land Rover vehicles.) To help ease the weight in the compact vehicle, polymers, plastics, polycarbonates and aluminum were used. The polycarbonate material is 40% lighter than glass. Not only that, but this material also aids in keeping the interior cool. The polycarbonate material is used for the side windows and the roof, helping beat the heat. The Land Rover LRX could possibly make it to the list of the cleanest cars in its class. This is for the reason that it is visualized as being a hybrid with 2-liter turbo diesel with bio-diesel facility. It could offer fuel consumption that could be around 49.9 mpg in US gallon. It could also be capable of reducing emissions, approximately 120 g/km.

Keeping the environment in mind, the makers of this vehicle made it durable but lightweight and at the same time recyclable. It is even composed of vegetable-tanned leather and fine suede-like material made of 100% recycled plastic bottles and fibers. However, it doesn’t end there. The land Rover LRX may be compact but with its Terrain Response, it ensures that its performance on coarse or slippery grounds is still kept at its best. Aside from it optimized driving performance, this land Rover also brings in the Sport mode and the Eco mode. The Eco mode makes it possible for the car’s systems to become optimized for fuel economy.

Inside, the Land Rover LRX is just as promising. It has earth tone colors of chocolate and vanilla with a surprisingly spacious interior. The seats float on individual bases, adding to its comfort and convenience of space. To add to is premium interior design, the usual cumbersome audio system is replaced with an iPhone and MP3 docking stations. Combining all the features and benefits of the Land Rover LRX makes it the Land Rover of the future.

Land Rover has done a great job and performed well at the recently concluded  Malaysian Rain Forest Challenge 2007. Because of that, Land Rover’s sole agents in Sri Lanka, Frontier Automotive, celebrated the victory of the British off-road vehicle manufacturer because Sri Lankan Team No. 101 “Team Frontier Automotive - Land Rover” Indika Sanjaya and Navin Marapana ended up as 1st Runner-ups in the Diesel Category. The Malaysian Rain Forest Challenge 2007 is actually considered the toughest and most internationally represented 4×4 event in the world.

The Sri Lankan team had been sponsored by a number of organizations in which Frontier Automotive was the main sponsor. Other sponsors include the Sports Ministry of Sri Lanka and Gamini Lokuge Minister of Sports and Public Recreation, Thilanga Sumathipala - Chairman BPO Services Pvt Ltd and Cashian Herath.

Land Rover has garnered a lot of winnings during this celebrated 4×4 event as Land Rover vehicles got the first, second, third, and fifth spots.

Sheran Fernando, CEO of Frontier Automotive, said, “Land Rover’s dominance on the results board was significant and in fact Land Rover won the team Prize for the event and took first place in the category for Novices as well.”

The Sri Lankan Team of Frontier Automotive and Land Rover which is composed of Indika Sanjaya and Navin Marapana won 1^st Runner-Up award in the Diesel Category in the said toughest 4×4 event in the world.

Fernando said of the duo, “The duo improved on their previous performance to emerge runners-up only 23 points behind the winners Team Demark in a hotly competed tenth anniversary edition of this challenging international competition which had to go into evacuation mode titled the Monsoon War Zone - The Great Escape.”

Fernando added, “Having been edged out in a prematurely ended competition; will they go back to claim their first palace in 2008 is a question only time will tell, however we at Frontier Automotive will be behind them all the way.”

Despite issues concerning the selling of Land Rover, the luxury unit of Land Rover “is strongly in profit at the moment.” This is according to Land Rover’s Managing Director, Phil Popham. He said, “We haven’t found the ceiling yet in some of (the emerging) markets.” However, he said that he sees “positive signs for this year.”

2007 had actually been a good year for the automaker as its global sales increased by up to 18 percent totaling to 226,395 vehicles sold. This increase in sale was because of Land Rover’s strong sales in Russia which went up to 96 percent and in China, sales sky-rocketed to 143 percent.

Another great thing that happened to the luxury sports utility vehicle manufacturer last year was that it was able to sell around 30,000 vehicles. This is something to be proud of as these much vehicles were sold in markets that Land Rover had no presence in half a decade before.

Because of the lot of great things that happened in 2007, Popham said that the British automaker is thinking of expanding its dealership networks. Aside from that, it is also planning to improve infrastructure like warehousing and to add more of their people in emerging markets as well. And because its sales performed high in Russia, Land Rover is expecting Russia along with the United Kingdom to be its leading markets.

India has also become an important auto market for Land Rover as Popham said the automaker sees its growing potential. Thus, it is looking in Indian market for additional growth. Popham said, “India is a market we are considering.”

Ford is currently in the process of selling Land Rover and Jaguar and Tata Motors Ltd seems to be the likely candidate as buyer. And because of the impending sale, Popham said he isn’t expecting any changes. He said, “Our assumption is business as usual. The management board of Land Rover has met with all our bidders.”

Land Rover is really committed into providing solutions to the environmental concerns that vehicles unintentionally provides the environment with. To prove its commitment, it has set up and recently launched its Our Planet communications campaign which would set out the progress Land Rover has made with regard to improving its environmental performance. It also shows its commitment to keep that momentum with technical innovation and the world’s largest carbon dioxide emission offset program. This campaign will point out the global conservation and humanitarian projects that Land Rover is working on.

As Land Rover has just recently celebrated its 60^th anniversary, its Our Planet campaign is also its way of celebrating along with the SVX Defender and the LRX Concept vehicle. The LRX concept vehicle will be making its debut during the North American International Auto Show happening in Detroit this weekend. It’s been made with lightweight materials and a hybrid technology so it is able to produce CO2 emissions that are only under 120g/km.

With the LRX concept vehicle, one can easily deduce that Land Rover takes its environmental responsibility seriously. Land Rover already started producing vehicles that have reduced emissions. And together with the automaker Jaguar, Land Rover is spending around £700m to improve technology that aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions.

However, this technology is just one part of Land Rover’s plan to reduce emissions and the impact vehicles bring to the environment and for the conservation of the wildlife and habitats as well. Another thing that Land Rover is doing to reduce emissions is its carbon dioxide offsetting program which is the biggest CO2 offset program in the world.

Land Rover has also partnered with a lot of conservation and exploration bodies such as the Royal Geographical Society, Biosphere Expeditions, Born Free Foundation, EarthWatch, and the China Exploration and Research Society.

The campaign of Land Rover is Land Rover’s way of demonstrating its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles and create an improved living condition for the people and the wildlife.

Biosphere Expedition will once again be supported by the known 4×4 vehicle manufacturer, Land Rover. The automaker has decided to support by providing them with its award-winning LR3 vehicles to be used for the expedition’s ongoing Arabian leopard research project in Oman.

This organization is a non-profit association which offer hands-on wildlife conservation expeditions to those want and are interested. With the expeditions they make, they are able to gather people from various walks of life and these people help support the different expeditions they have in different parts of the globe.

The Arabian Leopard research project has actually begun in January 2006 and its goal is to know more about the already-endangered Arabian leopard and check if they are still present in the Musandam area. Their expedition bore fruit as they were able to find out and report that there are indeed a few surviving Arabian leopards in that area. The news of their successful expedition reached the Oman government and so the government asked the Biosphere expedition to look into  Dhofar. The government believes that about a sizeable population of Arabian leopards exist there and so they’ve asked the help of the Biosphere Expedition to make further study and provide a conservation action to protect these already endangered species. The expedition started on the 13^th of January and this will last for a month.

The founder and Managing Director of Biosphere Expedition, Dr. Matthias Hammer, said about the expedition, ““Following our findings from the last expedition, we are excited to return to the region and continue our survey in a different area of Oman. We hope our expedition is as successful and we are able to help the Arabian leopard survive in the Sultanate of Oman.”

He said about Land Rover’s support, “Land Rover is one of our organization’s global sponsors, so we are thankful to have LR3 vehicles made available to us so we can take the expedition team to some of the most remote and harshest terrains in the Dhofar area. The partnership with Land Rover helps us reduce our running and expedition costs so that we can divert our funds into the projects and people, and take our conservation expedition to some inaccessible places.”

4×4 Australia Magazine has honored a Land Rover model – the Range Rover Sport TDV8 – with the prestigious 4WD of the Year Award for 2008. The Range Rover Sport TDV8 model actually isn’t the only Land Rover model to receive recognition as three other models of the automaker took the top 4 positions.

This actually the third time out of four years of Land Rover to win the prestigious 4WD of the Year award. This just proves that Land Rover is definitely the world’s leading manufacturer of four-wheel drive vehicles.

It was during the Today Show that Dean Mellor, the editor of 4×4 Australia Magazine, announced the award for Range Rover Sport. He also praised the model for its capability and technology saying, “It’s the whole package this vehicle, it’s absolutely amazing both on road and off road. “The technology is this vehicle is like nothing else…it drives like a car on the road but it’s still very economical.”

Surprisingly, the Land Rover Defender also made it to the top 4 as it finished a close second. This model is actually a specialized four-wheel drive so its recognition came as a surprise. The other Land Rover model which won an award is the Range Rover Vogue TDV8. This model landed the top 4^th spot, completing the top 4 positions dominated by the renowned 4WD automaker.

“Not only are we delighted to win this prestigious award, but to finish first, second and fourth is a true testament to Land Rover’s committed to building the best 4WDs in world. For 60 years now Land Rover has set the benchmark for all other manufacturers to follow, “ said Jon Harris, the Marketing and Public Affairs Manager for Land Rover Australia.

He added, “2007 really has been a busy and exciting year for the Land Rover brand, with record sales globally. The Range Rover Sport, and in particular the new TDV8 diesel engine, has been a major part of this remarkable success.”

The Range Rover Sport was introduced only three years ago, in 2005, and since then, it brought nothing but success and praises for the automaker behind its incredible road performance. In fact, in 2007, it was the highest selling Land Rover model in the world, thus, beating the Discovery 3, also one fo the most awarded 4WD of Land Rover.

Its secret? It merges invigorating dynamic ability with excellent comfort and refinement. This combination makes the Range Rover Sport cover long journeys quickly and provide comfortable journey for the passengers. It also is able to provide great handling and thrilling performance. No doubt it has been warmly welcomed and well-treated with great sales.

Off-road vehicle maker Land Rover promises to provide great overall vehicle performance on rough terrains and so designs its vehicles for off-road applications. Its Freelander 2 model is one of its models it is proud to offer off-road enthusiasts. But what’s surprising about this Land Rover off-roader is that it’s not just great on off0road terrains, it performs well on on-road surfaces as well. Sure, it does appear to have rugged features but it also has smooth curves that make it adaptive to both on-road and off-road surfaces.

Those who had it test-driven on on-road surfaces were amazed as the Land Rover Freelander 2 proved to be more satisfying to drive than the typical sports utility vehicle. Its height doesn’t appear to be an obstruction against smooth driving as it doesn’t roll and if anything, it even bends surefootedy. And because the Freelander 2 has large areas of glass, drivers can enjoy the fantastic views outside. The Freelander 2 also has agility which will make drivers want to step on the gas a little for more speed. But thanks to the model’s firm suspension system, passengers don’t have to worry about a bumpy ride, even on rough terrains.

Once inside, one will get the feeling that it’s not made and designed entirely for the use of those who love the off-road experience. Its interior is luxuriously roomy and well-equipped, something one wouldn’t expect of an off-roader to be.

Price, of course, for the Freelander 2 differs according to the engine installed under its bonnet. The 2.2 TD4 S Freelander 2 costs about £20,960, and the 3.2-liter i6 HSE costs about £34,095. There’s also the 2.2-liter diesel engine option which is mated to a six-speed manual transmission, although its price has not been disclosed. This engine produces 158bhp and 295lb-ft of torque, covers 37.7 miles per gallon, and reaches 0-62 miles per hour in 11.7 seconds. But if the engine installed is the 3.2-liter petrol, one can enjoy 230bhp. Also, this engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission which has a ‘CommandShift’ which allows the driver to do manual sequential gearchanges when necessary.