LANHAM,
Md. (8/23/01)
Land Rover is offering customers in North America an easier
way to order an all-new Freelander from virtually anywhere.
Starting August 30, customers who visit www.Freelander.com
can reserve a vehicle online as part of the Freelander Initial
Public Offering (IPO.)
"Land
Rover believes in taking the industry's best on and offline processes
to create the finest overall ordering and sales experience,"
says Dean Evans, Land Rover media and interactive e-commerce manager.
"With one of the highest-rated retail sales experiences,
the best use of Internet technology and a leading edge customer
acquisition strategy, we feel we have developed what will soon
be an industry standard."
Customers
who go to www.Freelander.com will be among the first to place
an order for a Freelander in North America, before the vehicle
officially goes on sale in December. There are several special
features only available on the IPO vehicles, including custom
IPO floor mats, an exclusive IPO only color choice Monte
Carlo Blue, and a numbered key chain to match each vehicle's build
number to show its personalized characteristic to each new IPO
customer.
"We wanted
to offer our customers a fair and easy process that would fit
into their daily routine," says Evans. "With so much
buzz in the market place already for Freelander we feel that the
IPO process will help us better meet customer demand."
There are
three basic steps to the IPO process, which distinguish it from
other vehicle sales initiatives on the Internet: Configure, Confirm
and Track.
Configure
Once a customer has accessed www.Freelander.com, they will find
detailed information about Freelander and will be able to initiate
the configuration process.
Initially,
the customer will be made aware of the estimated National Build
Start Date, so they will have a reasonable idea of when their
Freelander will be built.
Next, the
customer will configure their Freelander, choosing the trim level,
color, options, etc. Once the vehicle has been configured, the
customer may elect to "save" the vehicle so they can
retrieve it at a later date or move forward with the ordering
process.
When a customer
has decided to move forward with the reservation process, they
will be prompted to enter their name, e-mail address and zip code.
They will then receive information via the web site, stating which
nearest Land Rover Centre has been assigned their order.
To complete
the configuration process, the customer submits their order and
immediately receives an order number along with a printable "window
sticker."
Confirm
The customer has five days to confirm the order of their personally
configured Freelander with the Land Rover Centre that they have
chosen or have been assigned. The Land Rover Centre may also choose
to have one of their Guides make contact with the customer to
confirm the order and invite them to come visit the Centre to
meet the staff and learn more about the "Land Rover Way."
Track
Customers will receive an e-mail upon confirmation of their order.
They can then use their order number to track their vehicle starting
with production at Solihull in the UK to delivery at the predetermined
Land Rover Centre.
"The
days of going into a dealer and not getting an estimated delivery
date on a hot product are over," says Evans. "The Internet
is an important tool in today's market place and in our everyday
lives and we feel that it is a perfect way to communicate with
a much wider customer base."
Freelander
will be the first small, premium European sport-utility vehicle
ever sold in the U.S. market. The five-door Freelander, the first
all-new Land Rover model for North America since 1994, comes from
the same British lineage as Range Rover and Discovery but is a
more compact interpretation of the premium SUV package. From the
earliest design stages, Freelander was developed to offer drivers
capability for the widest breadth of driving conditions, from
the city to the highway and to serious off-road driving. As with
all Land Rovers, Freelander strives to offer best-in-class off-road
potential true go-anywhere capability.
Along with
a permanent all-wheel drive system and four-wheel electronic traction
control, Freelander features Hill Descent Control, long wheel
travel, a center viscous coupling, a 2.5-litre, 24-valve DOHC
V6 engine and all of the off-road performance consumers expect
from Land Rover vehicles.
Land Rover
North America, Inc., established in 1986, imports and distributes
Range Rover, Discovery Series II and Freelander vehicles manufactured
for sale in the U.S. by Land Rover in Solihull, England. Land
Rovers worldwide operations are wholly owned by Ford Motor
Co., Dearborn, Mich.