According to the company, the Land Rover brand values are individualism, authenticity, freedom, adventure, guts, and supremacy. And indeed, drivers in Africa like to say: "You can’t kill a Land Rover." Parts are freely available across the continent, and the essential toughness of the Land Rover has given it a special place in the hearts of people who need a 4x4 just to drive into town for groceries. The World Wildlife Federation prefers these vehicles, the South African Conservation Corporation has an entire fleet of them out in their private game reserves, and many thousands of private owners across the continent are fiercely loyal to this brand name. In fact, loyalty and respect for the Land Rover sometimes extends to the ridiculous. The owner of South Africa’s ultra-luxurious Singita Game Reserve outside Kruger Park gave his first, beloved Land Rover a full burial after replacing it with a newer model.

The boxy Land Rover vehicle has remained almost unchanged in looks since its introduction to the market at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show. And Land Rover owners like to boast that 75% of the vehicles introduced to the market half a century ago are still on the road. Moreover, Land Rover clubs and driving organizations are as heavily subscribed to in South Africa as they are in the UK and North America. Ford has intimated that it plans to move some aspects of production out of the UK (already evident with the decision to end production at its main UK volume car assembly plant in Dagenham), and South Africa has responded by making known its desire to take up the slack in its Samcor plant in Silverton, Pretoria, and the former Volvo-Hyundai plant in Botswana.

Nonetheless, Land Rover does not have a stranglehold on the South African market, which stood at 25,687 vehicles for 40 million people at the end of 1999. Brutal competition from Toyota, Jeep, Nissan, Mazda and Ford itself has lured away potential buyers. The recent introduction of the popular Mitsubishi Pajero has also not been good news for Land Rover, as it has skimmed off many of the high-end luxury 4x4 buyers. Additionally, there have been rumors that Land Rover 4x4s have suffered in quality since the ill-fated BMW take over.

Land Rover’s buyout by Ford last year ought to change all that, especially with Ford’s intended $211 million investment program into the company. By 2005, Ford is hoping to up annual production to 275,000 vehicles from the 178,000 posted last year, a 60% increase in sales volume. These figures are bold indeed, and proof of Ford’s belief in the product’s inherent marketability despite its frustrating sales slump under BMW. Ford South Africa CEO Marcos S. Oliveira said in a recent interview in Cape Town that "in the true spirit of the merger, the integrity of the Land Rover brand name will remain intact and will be passionately protected." He further reassured jittery Land Rover fans by saying that "Land Rover comes to us with a proud heritage and an established tradition, and we will maintain and enhance that reputation."

Despite all this optimism, Land Rover is already feeling the pinch in the US where – reacting to the economic slowdown – they’ve offered an option to test drive the Discovery II for 30 days with the option to return it and receive a full refund should the owner not be satisfied. It’s probably a safe bet that once behind the wheel of a Land Rover, few if any will actually willingly give it up, but the approach doesn’t bode well for the strength of the brand.

Assuming the crunch doesn’t affect the South African dealership, Land Rover can still command over 19% of the sport-utility market in South Africa – a figure that local dealers are hoping will grow along with the company. Total sales at the end of 1999 were 4,911 units, with the workhorse Defender model and the new Discovery making up 75% of that total.

If Ford plays its cards right, the Land Rover line will benefit from the incredible loyalty of its customers while leveraging South Africa's love of luxurious cars. The Discovery and Freelander models make up 60% of the sales profile in South Africa and are proof positive of the South African luxury car-buyer's wish for comfort as well as a piece of the gutsy, no holds barred bundu-bashing heritage that built the company. With the projected South African 4x4 sales in 2000 standing around 3,050 (a 24% increase), Land Rover has an excellent opportunity to make up lost ground. How it plans to promote both the traditional workhorse and the racy thoroughbred sides of its business is the riddle Ford must solve if it wants Land Rover to prevail over the competition both in South Africa and around the world.

Ron Irwin is a partner in the SA-based production company Atomic Productions, which specializes in new media projects for European and North American markets. His work has appeared on European and North American television screens via the Discovery Channel, and the WWF. His company’s most recent work has included a comprehensive profile on the recent Penguin disaster off Cape Town, diving with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa, and a documentary on Time's Hero of the Planet Laurie Marker's cheetah conservation program in Namibia.