Range Rover gets a royal PR boost

Thursday, 8 August 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s SML Frontier Automotive, sole agents for Land Rover in Sri Lanka were ecstatic over the Royal Boost given to the iconic Land Rover, when the third in line to the throne, drove home from hospital in a state of the art Range Rover “While Prince William and Kate Middleton had not yet given their newborn son a name, the tiny Prince of Cambridge did get his first taste of

luxury on the drive home from the hospital in a Range Rover,” said SML Frontier Automotive Managing Director Sheran Fernando. If anyone has reason to celebrate the royal birth, it’s the British automaker, suggested several marketing and automotive analysts. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s emergence from London’s St. Mary’s Hospital was captured by the world’s TV cameras with the Range Rover logo prominent as the royal tot was tucked into his car seat. “That definitely made a statement,” said Vice President of Herman Advertising in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a specialist in luxury marketing George Magda. “They could have picked a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce, but this definitely said that Range Rover has made it as a true luxury vehicle.” In Sri Lanka, the Land Rover is fast gaining popularity, with sales soaring as the vehicle takes its place on Sri Lankan roads as the latest Luxury SUV. Noted for its sleek appearance as well as rugged performance, the Land Rover is popular locally with the Yuppies, old school Businessmen and the military, while the adventurous have long considered the Land Rover to be the ideal out door vehicle. “The Range Rover is the top-line model of British-based Land Rover, a company that had far more humble roots when it was founded in 1948. While closely linked to Britain, it was the sort of brand more commonly associated with British expatriates, especially those who needed an extremely rugged vehicle to traverse mud ruts and gravel trails,” said Fernando. The royal family has long been known to use various Land Rovers on their private estates such as Sandringham or Balmoral. The fact that a somewhat more mainstream product served two potential future kings said a lot about the future monarchs, suggested Magda, pointing out that mother Kate Middleton has become a fashion icon with a strong influence on ‘upper-class soccer moms’, both in Britain and the US, who will now want to consider a Range Rover as ‘an accessory to their own lifestyle’. In Sri Lanka, Fernando hopes that this will get folks rushing to Land Rover showrooms to purchase more Land Rovers in the coming days.