Autocar creates its own car brand | Automotive

2021-12-08 10:30:14 By : Mr. Jason Zhou

When you record other people’s attempts to create car history in the past 125 years, it feels great to have the opportunity to build some of your own cars.

But this is where we find ourselves. After approaching a car fanatic billionaire who is completely unimaginable, a long-time Autocar reader wants to build his own car company.

This billionaire-it must be emphasized that we definitely did not make up for the rationality of a certain function-there is a theory: since the Autocar team knows so much about the automotive industry, we will be the perfect person to start and operate Their nascent car company.

We are very interested. We have promised complete creative freedom and necessary funds, and we agreed. We assigned key tasks within the team, and assigned roles based on expertise, authority, and occasional coin toss. What we have to do now is actually to invent our new car brand. So can car magazines really come up with a brilliant concept for car companies?

Big Boss-Steve Kropley

Introduction: Identify market gaps and opportunities for new car companies, and determine the general direction

Winston Churchill allegedly said at the beginning of World War II that a good crisis should never be wasted, implying that huge challenges would encourage better solutions. Regardless of whether he said these accurate words or not, we believe that this sentiment is very applicable to the current situation of Jaguar Land Rover and its Indian parent company Tata Motors.

We have assembled a small management team of Autocar "experts" whose task is (at least, for this Christmas issue) to develop a plan for a plausible, profitable and brand new car company based in the UK that can achieve big business ——Export return on scale. Our nominal start-up supporter is a major investment fund, ready to invest billions of dollars in the company together with partners, provided that it is confident that it will work well financially.

After careful consideration, we believe that the answer is to set up a brand new company Freelander Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., originally created as a Land Rover satellite (because Volvo supports Polaris) so that it can selectively utilize Jaguar Land Rover’s talents, resources, and suppliers, but Once the direction of the product and company is clearly determined, it will eventually go public to provide significant financial returns to its biggest backers (we are confident, including JLR).

Others will reveal more about the positioning of our products, but our plan is based on three principles:

■ Electric compact SUV has shown that it is very likely to become the vehicle with the highest demand in the near and far future.

■ JLR will have a strong interest in supporting SUV companies to help them get rid of diesel power.

■ Freelander is a "vacant" name, which has been very attractive, especially because it has the ideal size and age group meaning for the compact, young-oriented products we want to build.

Our CEO Mark Tisshaw has already begun to develop plans to allow the creation, design, launch and sale of a new Freelander series...

Manager-Mark Tishaw

Introduction: Develop business case, and key technology and production capacity

The successful launch of Freelander EV Ltd depends on the careful planning and adjustment of the things that already exist in the Jaguar Land Rover world (from components to factories). We will identify them and invest in them.

But, where can Freelander EV go where Land Rover can’t play? Small car. They are Land Rover’s kryptonite; they have long been eager, but they have also distracted the attention of the profitable business of making cars. Before you have to design 4x4 hardware anytime, anywhere, small cars already have sufficiently thin profits.

We will start with the Jaguar I-Pace architecture, which is currently known to be developed only for this car. We think this is a bit wasteful. Crucially, it is scalable, so we will contract with engineers from JLR's Whitley Engineering Base to adapt it to the smaller series of models considered by Freelander EV Ltd. By the way, no ability is needed anywhere.

Such an architecture will make the ratio of Freelander EV models completely different from any models offered by Land Rover, and the battery on the floor will naturally raise the height of the vehicle to what you would expect from a small crossover. But we need our own design director to achieve a young look with global appeal, and we have it in Ben Summerell-Youde.

In Bromwich Castle, Jaguar Land Rover owns a factory that is preparing for mass production of electric cars, thanks to the new Jaguar XJ and possible upgrades to other models, but it is a factory with constant question marks. With this in mind, it is an ideal place to produce Freelander electric cars.

I am not going to be a CEO standing here and saying "we will sell X cars in any year" because we know that the road to starting any new car company has never been this way. But my brief introduction to the sales and marketing team is simple: think about China. Success there will drive sales and profits, and design and engineering integrity should ensure global appeal.

Our electric vehicles do not necessarily have off-road capabilities, but we are still keen to build our brand by demonstrating this potential. For this reason, it is important that we choose racing activities related to our off-road marketing.

If done well, motorsport is a very effective marketing tool that can play a key role in helping to showcase the performance and off-road potential of electric technology.

Obviously, as a city-based single-seater series, Formula E is not suitable for us. But we are very interested in the new Extreme E Championship and the potential electric rally series. Although both categories use spec chassis, the ability to mount our bodies on machines means that we can establish marketing links, and both hope to allow manufacturers to develop drivetrain and battery technology. If done well, this will really help technology transfer and learning.

In the long run, we are very interested in the prospects of electric rally and rallies such as Dakar, which will truly be integrated with our marketing. However, in fact, it will take several years for electric vehicle technology to prepare for both, and at this stage, we do not have the resources to invest in promoting it.

Head of Marketing-James Attwood

Introduction: Develop brand identity and marketing strategy

Adopting the Freelander EV name means that our start-up company starts with a strong brand identity, but in order to continue to succeed, we need to move in a new direction without being bound by the tradition of our name. Therefore, in the process of how Volvo and SEAT transformed Polestar and Cupra from performance badges to independent brands, respectively, we are developing new logos and logos for Freelander EV.

We want to maintain the ubiquitous rugged charm implied by the Freelander badge, but make sure to use modern methods to differentiate us from Land Rover and attract our young, mainly urban electric car buyers-especially Freelander A Chinese with almost no heritage.

When Land Rover launched the Freelander model, its promotional activities developed the company's classic off-road theme, with advertising focused on the African plains. Although it is attractive to adopt these themes and develop them, we want to do something new.

The original Freelander badge used jagged fonts, which are powerful and unique, but not simple enough to be used on computer or smartphone screens and on the front of cars. Therefore, we decided to commission a 2D logo based on the concept of Snow Mountain-a territory that the owners of Freelander aspire to conquer (even though we know that few people will leave the city). It brings subtle desires to our cars. Then, the name of the Freelander is presented below it in a simple plain font—easy to read on the screen—and can be used in the script on the trunk lid of the car.

We also formulated the marketing slogan "Freedom". No matter where you land", it implies the Freelander's ability to work in all environments and purposes, and increases the sense of adventure.

Creative Wizards-Rebecca Stevens

Introduction: Design logo and brand image for Freelander EV

Under the guidance of the marketing department and our chairman, we studied multiple versions of possible Freelander EV logos. We specially developed the mountain theme while keeping it simple so that the shooting is easy and memorable.

To distinguish us from other car brands, we chose a unique frame for the logo, and we also added a bit of bold blue to represent the sky behind the mountain icon. We think this color splash is a welcome point that is different from other companies.

Technical Supervisor-Matt Pryor

Introduction: Set technical requirements and key specifications for the first batch of Freelander EV models

The same is true for the car itself. Freelander EV needs something to mark itself as a supplier that provides some rough tracking capabilities, even if it does not meet the full Land Rover standards and its main purpose is road vehicles. Fortunately, the I-Pace platform already has them built in.

The most important of these is the ability to provide four-wheel drive and a ride height that at least reaches the “crossover” level. The I-Pace already has an amazing off-road capability: the 500 mm wading depth and the torque vector allowed by its electric motor means that it can drive a single wheel, so it can find a grip that the traditional 4x4 simply does not have. Our launch vehicle has a higher ride height and a shorter wheelbase-remember that it is smaller than the I-Pace-and it will have a chance to match its performance.

But its main function is to be a road car. If someone can make a tall car drive, stop and manipulate, that's the engineer owned by the Freelander electric car. Because this car is smaller and cheaper than the I-Pace, it will not run the full air suspension of that car. But we have a connection with a company that has a good track record of making coil spring cars the best to drive in the world.

The two electric motors of this small five-seater with dog-friendly boots may have 300bhp. It can have more-I-Pace has 400bhp-but honestly you don't need that much. In view of the nature of the motor performance, the 300bhp of the four-wheel drive will make the 0-60mph time less than 6 seconds. This is the weight of the battery.

There are several options here. The 90kWh of the I-Pace is suitable for Freelander EV, which has a longer wheelbase, so the cruising range should be similar-up to 300 miles depending on the driving cycle. But we also envision other smaller battery options. Since the roofline is lower than some electric SUVs, its miles per kilowatt-hour should be truly competitive.

Car Stylist-Ben Summerell-Youde

Introduction: The design and style of the first Freelander EV model

A completely different ratio, the boss requested. This is the characteristic of Jaguar I-Pace-of course, even if they are related, I also need to distinguish Freelander EV from this model.

My goal is to capture the uniqueness I found in other tall Jaguar Land Rover products: the low nose bridge and the wheels that really are in every corner. Lighting technology is still making great progress. If this Freelander is to succeed in China, it needs a face completely different from any other products on the market today. By combining the shallow light on the horizontal feature line and the shape of the lower body affected by the tall bash-guard, we can create the feeling of a mini city off-road vehicle without the need for the traditional Land Rover bluff front end.

The common technique of using black cladding helps to break down metal products, gives the impression of a higher ground clearance, and helps to create ubiquitous shapes. Essentially, we created something that has some off-road heritage but still feels very clean, modern and suitable for life in today's urban environment.

That's hard work. We have a company, product plan, logo, marketing concept and racing plan, and we have developed our first car. All that remains now is to start manufacturing our Freelander EV models, establish dealerships, online sales and distribution networks, vigorously market, and then observe the influx of orders. It's simple, right?

Well, interesting story. The non-fictional funding from our absolutely non-fictional billionaire does not seem to have materialized yet. Now they don’t answer our calls...

We still hope to attract an avid car benefactor-Elon, call us-but for now, the Freelander EV will still be a concept. Nonetheless, we think this is a good one. what do you think? Please let us know via autocar@haymarket.com.

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There is no doubt that this is more exciting than a new washing machine in a different color.

It can really show how many cars have "finished".

If people demand that BEVs are not as high as SUVs, they need to find other places for the battery packs instead of laying them directly under the passenger compartment. The battery pack is very large, if the range will be large. Therefore they need a lot of space. Let people remember that even though the BEV may seem high-as high as an SUV, assuming the battery is under the floor of the passenger compartment, the passenger compartment is kept high enough inside so that the passenger's head does not touch the roof lining. Nevertheless, the center of gravity of the vehicle should be very low-because if placed at the lowest point of the vehicle, a very heavy pattern bag. So it will be heavy, because after all, a battery pack that provides a range of 300 miles may weigh more than 500 kilograms. So it may be heavier than the sum of all other Gubin. Because BEV is very tall, but logically still has a low center of gravity-when it drives along a curved road, it will not behave like we are used to tall SUV-style vehicles. However, as long as the battery pack provides 300 miles of cruising range-at least about 500 kg or more than 500 kg, then the heavy weight seems completely inevitable. 

Great, more SUVs are what the world needs to waste energy unnecessarily! What makes enthusiasts crave enough usability to carry home and aerodynamic characteristics, and is more suitable for maximizing the range of electric power systems? Like redesigned compact actuators, free-falling market segments due to the trend of high-rise family cars? 

The exterior design of the SUV is logical for the EV, because the reasonable placement of the battery under the passenger compartment makes the vehicle taller. Therefore, I expect that almost all future EV designs may follow the trend of SUV style. This is logical when you put the battery under the passenger compartment, but still make sure that the passenger compartment is high enough to prevent people from brushing their heads to the roof lining.