Till the end of World War II the Willy’s Jeep was virtually the only small off roader in the world. Later, when millions of cheap war surplus jeeps were picked up by civilians many found that a light off road vehicle was very useful for those living on farms and in remote areas. It was however small, cramped, rough, rattled and had a hard ride. In 1947 Maurice Wilks of UK decided to set this right with a bigger, more powerful and comfortable all terrain vehicle and the Land Rover, with rustproof aluminium body, that also did not rattle much was born and evolved to become a range of rough and luxurious SUVs.
In March 2012, the millionth Land Rover came off the UK production line. To mark the occasion it set off on a 13,000 km overland odyssey from Britain to China touching the Geneva Motor Show on its way. This was not surprising as the Land Rover is now a part of the Tata Motor’s stable and Ratan Tata has always had a soft spot for the Geneva show and even attended it on a stretcher in 2008 for the launch of the Nano. The Evoque convertible model was also launched at the show. Land Rover had earlier changed hands from Leyland, Rover, BMW and Premier.
Land Rover arrived in India after the import restrictions following independence and has been a huge success in Australia and South Africa. In India, the sales are especially high in Hyderabad. Today, the rugged range offers more than the basic model with the luxurious Range Rover and the sleek new Evoque. One of India’s leading automotive engineers and car restorers, Tutu Dhawan, says, “Though the vehicle had suffered some electronic problems in the past its slow revving high torque engine had enough ‘donkey power’ to pull it through any terrain. It was also easy to maintain and thus earned its legendary reputation.”
According to Mr Del Sehmar, who heads JLR sales in India, they sold nearly 900 units in India in 2009 and more than double that number last year. So the brand is moving and the volumes now justify local assembly in Pune. But a good product and a competitive price are not enough so the company now has fifteen sales and service outlets with more in the pipeline. The millionth Land Rover is now crossing the alpine mountains and will have to cross most of the main mountains, forests and deserts of Europe and Asia. Though the project aims to raise funds for the international Red Cross it will also demonstrate the rugged qualities of the great brand.
The writer is an automotive expert and the former editor of a national magazine