New strategy moves Jaguar Land Rover towards mobility

Customers today may not always want to own a car, said Simon Dransfield, Director Fleet, Mobility & Pre-Owned Europe, Jaguar Land Rover. That’s why JLR is rolling out schemes that let drivers share or rent a vehicle. In certain markets, JLR has also launched subscription models.

New responsibility

Mr Dransfield also had news of a more personal nature: “I have been given responsibility over pre-owned cars on top of fleets and business, including all used car programmes, remarketing, digital platforms etc.” The change is effective 1 July.

“From an operational point of view, this makes sense as I have always had residual value ownership – essential to ensure TCO can be the driver of fleet performance.”

Mobility

In a bid to serve premium customers who want to pay per use instead of paying to own, JLR is rolling out various mobility programmes.

Throughout Europe, Jaguar Land Rover will launch a new carsharing programme. “It is a short-term rental programme based out of our retail locations,” said Mr Dransfield. This makes it a fixed-location scheme rather than a free-floating one. However, JLR is carrying out trials with a fully digital experience at key high-level leisure locations in Spain and Italy where customers can access vehicles from half an hour to one day.

“The problem is it is very difficult to work out how you get the utilisation and the revenue to a point where they support the cost of operating the model. We’re doing it as an investment rather than as an ongoing mobility solution for our customers.”

Drivers who are looking to hold on to a vehicle for up to six months, can use the Rent service. JLR works with various operational partners to offer Rent in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, France and Italy.

International key accounts

Jaguar Land Rover is also reviewing the parameters for international accounts. Existing contracts will not be affected, but for new contracts to qualify as international, they need to cover a minimum of 50 vehicles per year in three countries. “The amount of effort involved in managing key accounts is the same whether you are selling ten cars or 500,” said Mr Dransfield. “We want our efforts to make sense for us, but also for our clients.”

Photo: Simon Dransfield, Director Fleet & Business, Jaguar Land Rover