Land Rover

Land Rover
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For more details of the vehicle's development between 1948 and 1985, see Land Rover Series.
Land Rover Company logo
Type Subsidiary
Founded 1978 established by BL as a subsidiary.[1]
Founder(s) British Leyland
Headquarters Gaydon, Warwickshire, England
Key people Ratan Tata, Chairman
David Smith, CEO
Phil Popham, Managing Director
Industry Automotive
Products Automobiles
Employees 13,000
Parent Tata Motors, Ltd.
Website LandRover.com
Land Rover Marque
Current owner Tata Motors
Country of origin United Kingdom
Markets Automotive
Previous owners 1948 - 1967 Rover Company
1967 - 1968 Leyland Motor Corporation
1968 - 1986 British Leyland Motor Corporation
1986 - 1988 Rover Group
1988 - 1994 British Aerospace
1994 - 2000 BMW
2000 - 2008 Ford Motor Company

Land Rover is a 4x4, SUV and all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, based in Solihull, West Midlands, England, now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business owned by Tata Motors of India.

Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle (see Land Rover Series), a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on 30 April 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all capable of four-wheel drive.

Starting out as a model in the Rover Company's product range, the Land Rover brand developed, first as a marque, then as a separate company, developing a range of four-wheel drive capable vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. In 2000, the company was sold by BMW to the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of their Premier Automotive Group. In June 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors.[2][3][4]

Land Rover is one of the longest surviving four-wheel drive (4WD) brands, coming in a close second to Jeep.