VELAR - For those that know is a name so well known within Range ROver circles, now it is a brand name.

• A new addition to the Range Rover family, filling the white space between the Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport
• Land Rover reaffirms its position as the world’s leading SUV brand
• From a bloodline like no other, Velar name is derived from the original Range Rover prototypes of 1969
• World premiere on 1 March 2017

The luxury SUV was created in 1970 when Land Rover launched the original Range Rover. Almost half a century later that spirit of innovation continues with the introduction of the fourth member of the Range Rover family, to be unveiled on 1 March 2017.

Elegant simplicity, a visually reductive approach and pioneering consumer technology are the hallmarks of the new Range Rover Velar. 

Land Rover Chief Design Officer, Gerry McGovern, said: “We call the Velar the avant garde Range Rover.  It brings a new dimension of glamour, modernity and elegance to the brand. The Range Rover Velar changes everything.”

Refined for every occasion, for every terrain, Velar uses unique sustainable materials and advanced engineering to continue Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond.

The origin of the Velar name (pronounced vel-ar) dates back to the first Range Rover prototypes of the Sixties: the pioneers of the luxury SUV landscape.

When development engineers needed to hide the true identity of the 26 pre-production Range Rovers, they chose the name Velar, derived from the Latin velare meaning to veil or cover.

Land Rover launches the All-New Discovery 5 at this year's Paris Motor Show.(Short Piece with a few pics)

• First sight of Land Rover’s new full-sized, seven-seat SUV
• Created with absolute versatility, capability and technology like no other
• Continues the Land Rover Above and Beyond journey
• New Discovery world premiere: 28^th September 2016 ahead of the Paris Motor Show

The new Discovery embodies Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond, combining British desirability with an unstoppable spirit of adventure.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer, said: “New Discovery redefines the large SUV. Land Rover’s design and engineering teams have revolutionised the Discovery DNA to create a highly desirable, extremely versatile and hugely capable premium SUV".

5 years, 500,000 units, & a continued expansion of models keep the Evoque a huge success for Jaguar Land Rover.

• The world’s most recognisable luxury compact SUV celebrates its fifth birthday
• Every 170 seconds a Range Rover Evoque is produced in the UK, with more than half a million built since 4 July 2011
• Range Rover Evoque accounted for one in four Land Rover sales in 2015

The world’s most recognisable and luxurious compact SUV, the Range Rover Evoque, reached a historic milestone today as it celebrated its fifth year of production at Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced manufacturing facility near Liverpool, UK.

With over half a million sold globally in more than 180 countries since 2011, the Range Rover Evoque – driven everywhere from Madrid to Manila – is Land Rover’s greatest sales success story. It is also Land Rover’s most efficient model, thanks to its British-built Ingenium engines which offer class-leading CO₂ emissions of just 109g/km and impressive fuel consumption of 68mpg.

The Range Rover Evoque has become a non-stop British success with 24-hour production at the Halewood plant. Since the first Evoque rolled off the production line on 4 July 2011, sales have increased five-fold from just over 22,000 in 2011 to more than 108,000 in 2015 – with a new Evoque now rolling off the production line every 170 seconds. At the same time, the workforce has also trebled to more than 4,000, with 1,500 recruited specifically to support the launch of this record-breaking vehicle in 2011.

Over the past five years, employees have clocked up more than three million night-shift hours, consuming 668,000 cups of coffee, half a million eggs and 125,000 slices of toast to keep energy levels up during an eight hour shift. A total of 1.7 billion Evoque parts have been fitted in the Trim and Final assembly area, travelling over 2.5 million miles of conveyor system.

Jaguar Land Rover associate Ash Milburn joined Halewood shortly after the launch of the Evoque: “I started as an Apprentice at a very exciting time for the company. The Range Rover Evoque has been hugely successful; it has brought a lot of positive changes to Halewood and has contributed immensely to the success of Jaguar Land Rover, as well as boosting the whole UK automotive industry,” he said.

Ross Bolton, Paint Shop Production Leader, said: “I started in February 2011 so I have witnessed the transformation in the factory that Evoque has brought with it. I have since been promoted to a Production Leader and I am grateful to the company for this amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to continuing to support the business and helping us drive our success forward into the future.”

Earlier this year, Halewood began building a new soft-top member of the Evoque family, the Range Rover Evoque Convertible; the world’s first luxury SUV convertible and another first for Land Rover. Despite the typical British summer weather, employees at Halewood enjoyed the roof-down experience of driving the Evoque Convertible on the Land Rover Experience off-road course as part of the birthday celebrations.

Richard Else, Jaguar Land Rover Halewood Operations Director, said: “During my 25 years at Jaguar Land Rover it has been the last five years that have been the most eventful, exciting and rewarding. The impact which Evoque has made to our business and to Halewood is nothing short of transformational. I am immensely proud of the Halewood team; their pride, passion and commitment to getting the job done and going above and beyond is second to none.”

Globally, the Evoque has picked up nearly 200 awards over the last five years. Halewood Operations has also picked 11 regional business awards and recently won its first national award as it took home the ‘UK Manufacturer of the Year’ crown at the Insider MADE in the UK Manufacturing Awards 2016. 

Jaguar Land Rover has invested £600 million at the Halewood plant since 2010 to support the Range Rover Evoque (2011), Land Rover Discovery Sport (2014) and the Evoque Convertible (2016). The Evoque is also the fastest selling Land Rover of all time, accounting for one in four Land Rovers sold around the world in 2015. Local production also started in China in 2015, and more recently, announced in Brazil.

Halewood – Facts & Figures

• Halewood Operations manufactures the multi award winning Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the most versatile premium compact SUV.
• The plant is operating at full capacity, 24 hours-a-day.
• Jaguar Land Rover invested more than £500 million in Halewood between 2011 and 2015
• Jaguar Land Rover has also invested more than £5 billion in UK supply contracts linked with Evoque and Discovery Sport production.
• Over 2200 Halewood employees have completed Apprenticeships in the past two years.
• 3 million night shift hours have been worked since 2011
• 1.69 billion Evoque parts have been fitted throughout Halewood’s Trim and Final assembly, travelling down 2.26 million miles of conveyor system
• Over the past five years, employees have consumed 668,083 cups of coffee, 751,134 rashers of bacon, 518,210 eggs 125,727 slices of toast and 692,104 sausages at the plant

500,000 sold and still the class leader, the Evoque is Land Rovers fastest ever selling product.

• 500,000th Range Rover Evoque rolls off production line in Halewood, UK, just over four years after going on sale
• Luxury compact SUV is the fastest-selling Land Rover ever produced
• New Convertible joins five-door and Coupé models to complete the line-up
• A new vehicle rolls off the Halewood production line every 80 seconds

Land Rover is celebrating the production of its 500,000^th Range Rover Evoque at Halewood, just over four years after deliveries of the luxury compact SUV commenced.

Evoque is the fastest-selling and most successful Land Rover ever produced, having become the quickest to reach the half-a-million vehicle production landmark.

One in every three Land Rovers sold around the world is an Evoque and strong global demand ensures the production line at Halewood is in operation 24 hours a day, with a new vehicle coming off the line every 80 seconds.

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, Land Rover, said: “Evoque has been a huge success for Land Rover winning more than 165 international awards, bringing new customers to the brand and evolving to stay ahead of the competition. With our bold new Evoque Convertible we have broadened the range and will attract even more new customers to the brand.”

The launch of the Evoque marked a major milestone in the transformation of the fortunes of the Halewood manufacturing plant which welcomed £250mn of investment to bring this award winning model to market. Its arrival at the Merseyside based site saw the introduction of a third shift and in just four the plant’s workforce trebled and production quadrupled. Evoque continues to support Range Rover’s reputation for engineering excellence and innovation. For the 2016 model year, the luxury compact SUV was enhanced with refinements to the ground breaking exterior design including the availability of full-LED adaptive headlamps – a first for Jaguar Land Rover. An advanced line-up of new Ingenium diesel engines also delivers best-in-class CO₂emissions of 109g/km and fuel consumption of 68mpg (4.2 l/100km), making Evoque the most efficient Land Rover model.

The striking new Evoque Convertible made its world debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November 2015. When it goes on sale from Spring 2016, it will be the only luxury compact SUV convertible in the world.

Richard Else, Operations Director, Halewood, said: The Range Rover Evoque has been a fantastic success for Halewood and for Jaguar Land Rover. We are very proud of our award winning SUV and we are looking forward to welcoming the new Evoque Convertible to Halewood very soon.”

The completion of the 500,000^th Evoque is the latest in a series of Land Rover production milestones achieved recently. In April 2015, Land Rover celebrated its 6,000,000^th vehicle sold – a specially manufactured Range Rover Vogue SE LWB fitted with unique puddle lamp designs to mark the occasion.

In June 2015, Land Rover marked the 2,000,000^th Series Land Rover and Defender vehicle with a bespoke model assembled by key figures from the legendary 4x4’s past. It was auctioned at Bonhams auction house in London, UK, on 16 December to raise funds for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Born Free Foundation, fetching £400,000 to be shared equally between both charities.

First UK customer deliveries of the new Evoque Convertible will be in June this year with prices starting from £47,500 for the HSE Dynamic.

ENDS

Editors' Notes

Evoque timeline

2009 – LRX Concept wows the crowds at Detroit Motor Show

2010 – Range Rover Evoque revealed at Kensington Palace, UK

2011 – First production Evoque rolls of the Halewood production line

2012 – 100,000 milestone is reached in less than one year – the first Land Rover to achieve this

2013 – Evoque becomes one of the first passenger vehicles fitted with a nine-speed automatic

2014 – Luxury Union Jack-themed SW1 edition is latest in a series of special editions

2015 – Refreshed design, new technology and fresh powertrains introduced

2016 – New Convertible model introduced