Interview: Joe Eberhardt

President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America

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Joe Eberhardt, president, and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America, has a long career in the auto industry, with stops at Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, and Mercedes-Benz along the way. We spoke to Eberhardt at the Chicago Auto Show following the introduction of the 2021 Jaguar F-Type.

The Defender 110 is planned to go on sale this spring, followed by the 90. What will its impact be? Obviously, it helps sales volumes. It brings to the front the totality of the Land Rover brand strategy with three families or subbrands, which is Discovery, Range Rover, and now Defender.

We have waited a long time for the Defender in the U.S. The rest of the world waited a few years, but there has been a 23-year void for us in the U.S. It allows us to really communicate the purpose of each subbrand. They are all unified by design and engineering excellence, but they are differentiated. Range Rover stands for ultimate luxury and refinement. Discovery stands for versatility and functionality. Defender is the ultimate in terms of durability and capability. They share some core brand DNA, but then they accentuate certain elements. In the past it was difficult to get that across because of that missing third leg of the stool. Hopefully, when customers look at the entire lineup now, it is clearer what the intent of the overall brand strategy is.

Defender helps define Discovery? Exactly. People say the Discovery doesn’t look like an LR4. True, but that was on purpose because we knew Defender was coming, and if the Discovery was too rugged, too off-road oriented, it would have clashed with the family.