Named as the newest Global Managing Director of Range Rover earlier this year, there are few people on earth more discerning when it comes to brand identity than Martin Limpert. At the precipice of the brand’s foray into electrification, Limpert oversees product strategy at a crucial time, guiding its future while maintaining the lofty, unparalleled reputation carried by the name “Range Rover.” While attending the Wimbledon with the brand earlier this year, we had the opportunity to sit down with Limpert to discuss the balance between heritage and innovation, customer experience, and his larger responsibility of tending to the global vision of Range Rover.
To start, when it comes to brand experience, I was wondering if you had any non-automotive inspirations from brands that made you think, “That’s a good way of handling a customer?”
It’s less specific to brands and more so [to] industries, especially ones that are relevant to our customers. Where we want to be with modern luxury, it’s about experiences. Where do you get beautiful experiences? In the service industry, right? The hotel industry, restaurants, fine jewellery — the kinds of industries where people are taken care of. So that’s where we try to get inspired, but we have a lot of our own ideas exactly in that direction. Between experiences and the service industry, I think that’s a good reference point.
What specifically can you apply from them to Range Rover?
I think what makes us unique is really focusing on our DNA and sharpening what Range Rover stands for. It’s not about looking at others or copying others. Of course, you observe what is happening, but it is really important to stay consistent with what the brand stands for; things like the original British provenance [and] peerless, modern, [and] reductive luxury design. This is absolutely us. If you apply it [to] the vehicle, the clamshell bonnet, the short overhangs, the beautiful proportions, the floating roof line, all of this is what we carry over. It’s focusing on craftsmanship and execution, and then, of course, unmatched on-road and off-road capabilities. That’s the DNA and core of what we focus on when we keep evolving, refining, dialing in on these elements. So, it’s more focusing on our own capabilities, and making sure we strengthen them.
And from a business strategy standpoint, given the expansion of bespoke offerings, can you share where the vision for the brand stands on that front?
When we launched our reimagined strategy two years ago, one of our focuses was to build and set up a house of brands. We specifically have the four brands: Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, [and] Jaguar. We built out their individual personalities, gave them space to breathe and room to grow. So, definitely, we are a brand-led business, which means, in terms of value, it’s much more important for us to build different kinds of value for our clients and build the desirability.
Bringing value to the brand itself means really building that brand equity, being a desirable brand, being the first choice for a customer who wants to reward themselves for certain achievements.
In terms of capability, to execute this vision of deepening the bespoke offering and customization, how long is the process?
It’s a journey. I mean, the ultimate goal is to offer customers an opportunity to personalize their vehicle, to make it even more reflective of their own personality and the values that they represent. And this is definitely an evolution; it’s a journey that will never stop. It’s one that we want to enhance further [to] increase the possibilities for our customers. We mean this in terms of personalization of the product itself, but also the experience in which we convey that personalization. It’s something that you want to celebrate — it’s something ceremonial. When you get into your first customization, you think, “How do I personalize my car?” Maybe you fly over to the U.K., immerse [yourself] in the materiality, in the colours in our bespoke commissioning suite, until the point in time when you finally receive your vehicle. So that’s the journey and the experience that we want to build it around. It’s as important as the product itself.
Range Rover Electric is coming. For off-road capability and for refinement and performance, it’s hard to beat. It’s the ultimate refinement. I wonder, what’s the early indication of your customers?
So, first of all, you very well observed as to what the Range Rover Electric will be about. Let me briefly elaborate on this. First, it’s a Range Rover. When we reached out to our customers, they said, “What we would expect from you with Range Rover Electric is to make it a Range Rover. Make it deliver on all the promises that Range Rover makes. Don’t change anything. And then, let it be electric.” So, our focus is, it’s a Range Rover first. It has to deliver all the capabilities that our clients expect today, be it the towing capacity, be it the wading depth of the vehicle, the performance, the calm sanctuary, the magic carpet ride, the on- and off-road capability. All of this will be provided, and then it happens to be an electric powertrain, which has more output, has more performance, has an even quieter cabin, and even more refinement in it.
In terms of demand, it’s really a good situation we’re in at the moment. I think our waitlist is more than 62,000, [meaning], people who have expressed an interest so far. So, the demand is there. And we keep informing and communicating with that audience, and whenever we are ready to launch, we are quite optimistic and confident that it will be a great success.
