Quality priority as Land Rover eyes challenges

Best sales year ever in 2005 as Land Rover completes six years of growth.

Land Rover is switching managing directors just as the premium Ford brand accelerates into profitability and heads for record sales.

Phil Popham, 40, previously director of Land Rover's European operations, takes over from Matthew Taylor, 45, on April 19.

Popham will report to Geoff Polites, chief executive of Jaguar-Land Rover and former managing director of Ford Australia.

Among challenges Popham will face are:

* The launch of the new Freelander later this year. With 41,440 units built last year, the Freelander is the brand's second best-selling model after the Discovery

* Moving Freelander production to a Jaguar's plant in Halewood, near Liverpool, England. Currently the SUV is built at Land Rover's plant in Solihull, England. Like Land Rover, Jaguar is a member of Fords Premier Automotive Group

* Completing modernisation and quality improvements at Solihull, where Land Rover's four other model lines will continue to be built.

Land Rover finished second to last in the 2005 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability survey, an important measure of customer satisfaction in the US, a key market for the brand.

Taylor said that leaving Land Rover was "the hardest decision I've ever had to make."

"I think our biggest success is turning a business from a significant loss to significant profit and taking a great brand into the 21st century by giving it the products it needs," he said.

So far this year, Land Rover is the only Ford brand showing a sales gain in Europe, up 13.3 per cent so far to 11,721 units, according to independent data.

In 2005, Land Rover set its all-time sales record of 185,120, up 14 per cent over 2004.

The brand built 175,798 units in 2005, compared with 149,764 units in 2004, according to J.D. Power-LMC.

Popham takes over as Land Rover celebrates six straight years of growth and turns the corner into financial and commercial health.

Big investment in new products such as the Range Rover Sport, Discovery and manufacturing is now beginning to bear fruit. Land Rover declined to give investment totals.

The new Freelander likely will be unveiled at the British motor show in July and go on sale in October.

It will be larger and more of a premium vehicle than the current model, said Land Rover spokesman Don Hume.

Hume would not say whether the Freelander will use a new 2.2-litre direct-injection diesel engine developed jointly by Ford and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen.

The petrol engine will be from the Ford group, he said.

Sales of the current Freelander fell to 47,000 in 2005 as the collapse of MG Rover cut off supplies of petrol engines.

- REUTERS