JAGUAR LAND ROVER STARS AT THE CANADIAN AUTO SHOW

Jaguar Land Rover will debut a number of vehicles for the first time in Canada, for the most exciting Canada Auto Show ever, says Lindsay Duffield, President, Jaguar Land Rover Canada.



 

For the first time, Toronto show‑goers get to see the new Land Rover Discovery Sport, the 550‑horsepower Range Rover Sport SVR and get to hear all about our 2016 Range Rover diesels. On the Jaguar front, we will debut our new compact sports sedan, the XE, the F‑TYPE all‑wheel drive and manual‑transmission variations and the exclusive F‑TYPE Project 7.

 

How important is the new Discovery Sport for JLR Canada?

 

The compact SUV segment is on fire right now. While we’ve had a pretty good run with the LR2, the design, functionality, optional 5+2 seating and amazing capability of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport is going to appeal to a much larger section of the SUV market. Starting at $41,490* Canadian, it is very attractively‑priced in the segment. When it goes on sale in the second quarter ‑ the start of our peak spring selling season ‑ together with the Range Rover Evoque, it will give us a huge one‑two punch in the segment.
 
 

How are the new Range Rover diesels going to be received?

 

Canada is a large diesel market. The key competition has had diesel SUVs for some time and about eight out of every 10 of luxury SUVs sold in Canada are diesel. Gas is pretty expensive here in the North, so a Range Rover TD6 that gets 30 percent better economy will have immense appeal. Canadians also tend to drive greater distances, and many people tow trailers or campers, so they really love the strong low‑end torque a diesel offers. We’ve been waiting a long time to have a diesel Range Rover and Range Rover Sport in Canada and I know our customers will be very happy.
 
 

How do you think the Canadian debut of the Jaguar XE will be received?
 
 

It will be an early look for our customers. As with the U.S., we won’t get this new Jaguar compact sports sedan until later next year when it will be offered with all‑wheel drive and the new Ingenium four‑cylinder turbo diesels along with our supercharged 340‑horsepower V6. This will be a critically important car for us and our 23 retailers in terms of increasing our sales volumes and reaching a new, younger audience. We can’t wait to get it.
 
 

You’ve been having great success with the F‑TYPE. Tell us more about introducing new all‑wheel drive and manual transmission.
 
 

Both all‑wheel drive and manual transmission will only heighten the appeal of the F‑TYPE. We had a stellar year with F‑TYPE in 2014; sales doubled from 229 cars in 2013 to 457 last year with the introduction of the Coupe, making us now the fifth largest F‑TYPE market in the world behind the U.S., UK, Germany and China. That’s despite our relatively short summer driving season. F‑TYPE has been successful for us not only from a sales standpoint, but also from a brand perspective in making us more aspirational, and having younger, affluent buyers become more aware of Jaguar.
 
 

What other exciting models can guest expect at the show?

We’re really excited to also have the F‑TYPE Project 7 with us. When we announced that we would have an allocation of just seven F‑TYPE Project 7 cars for the Canadian market, I think they all sold within seven seconds. At $188,000* Canadian, it is certainly the most expensive sports car we’ve offered, but definitely the fastest‑selling.

 

Tell us about the new marketing campaign for Land Rover you’re highlighting at the show?

Our new campaign, ‘#Hibernot’ is going to be a lot of fun. We’re saying you can either hibernate at home, sitting on the couch during the winter here in The Great White North, or you can hibernot. The whole campaign is focused on encouraging our customers to get out into the great outdoors and have fun in their vehicles. In many ways Canada is even more beautiful in the wintertime, so we have come up with 50 suggestions on a www.landrover.ca microsite of places to go. We want owners to tweet their adventures, or post on Instagram or Facebook. At the show, we’re announcing that Simon Whitfield, the legendary Canadian Olympic triathlete, will be an ambassador for the Land Rover #Hibernot program.
 
 

The Canadian International Auto Show runs from February 13 through February 22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For more information, go to www.autoshow.ca.

* Price shown is MSRP. Excludes $1,575 destination and handlingcharge, tax, title, license, retailer fees and optional equipment. Retailer price, terms and vehicles availability may vary. See your local authorized Land Rover Retailer for details