Red Rover, Red Rover…Ford’s Taking the Name Over
In a surprising turn of events, FoMoCo has exercised its option to purchase the Rover name from BMW. BMW was set to sell the moniker, ostensibly to a Chinese manufacturer, but under the terms of the Land Rover sale it had to give Ford the first right of refusal. Ford’s official line was that “It is in interests of our Land Rover business to have the Rover brand.”
Edward Lapham over at Automotive News brings up the idea that Mazda could use the Rover name to launch a luxury division. You’ll remember that Mazda scuttled its planned Lexus/Acura/Infiniti fighting Amati division years ago and instead launched the Millenia which ascended to the top of the range after the 929 was no longer imported.
Personally I don’t fancy the Mazda idea. Rather, I think Ford is creating a nice package of British nameplates for sale. By offering Rover, Jaguar and Land Rover as a bundle you’ve created the potential for an entire model range. In the meantime, Ford prevents any ersatz Rover SUVs from polluting the market.
If you haven't already, check out this previous post on Rover's Longbridge assembly plant.
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