Covid-19 put brakes on Gerry McGovern’s new Land Rover Defender but he’s still determined to make it a ‘car for heroes’
GERRY McGOVERN could be the unhappiest car designer in the world right now.
His latest creation, the Defender, was just about to hit the showrooms when Covid-19 put the brakes on the toughest car on the planet. But Land Rover’s Chief Creative Officer is full of optimism about his working and personal life — and his new cars.
He says of the Defender set-back: “It’s frustrating after all the fantastic reviews and huge demand from customers.
“But I like to turn negatives into positives and we’ve been able to deliver the first fleet of Defenders to help various emergency services. A hero car for our heroes.”
Working from home during lockdown has allowed Gerry the rare time to assess and rethink both his design philosophy and the way Land Rover do business — and also what is important in his own life.
He says: “We are all re-assessing life and the way business is done. We are realising you can do things without directly touching the flesh, and do we need to make so many plane journeys or drive to meetings when we have video conferencing.
“It has given me time to reflect on Land Rover design. I have been reviewing the way we execute design, how we evolve and refine models.
“You realise designers don’t always have to push the boundaries, we need to do things that resonate with our customers.”
Gerry concedes that working from home is no hardship for someone who lives in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside in a modernist house he designed himself. He says: “It’s a calming sanctuary for me.”
It is a far cry from the tiny Coventry council house he grew up in, where the only toilet was outside and the family watched a black and white television.
Gerry was close to his parents and family is clearly very important, which has been an unexpected bonus of the virus.
He says: “It has been nice to have more quality time with my wife Olga and nine-year-old daughter Vanessa.
“If you think too much about things, self-isolation can be very stressful. I’ve had my bouts of stress earlier in life when my mother died, and I felt pressure when I wasn’t coming up with good designs.
“Part of my job alongside the actual design is to take pressure away from the team, especially on Defender because everyone had a view. I didn’t want them preoccupied with Defender’s past, yes it had to capture some of the essence of the old car, but it was vital it had to be a modern vehicle. I am lucky I’ve got one of the greatest jobs, so there is no need to be stressed.
“I need to enjoy my job. To be creative you need to be happy.”
Gerry, 64, has a reputation for being one of the most colourful characters in the car world — but is he easy to work with or a demanding boss?
He says: “I am not a yes-man and I don’t play politics. I fight hard for what I want. But I can be quite demanding and I do get frustrated.”
What is undisputable is that Gerry has a rare talent that has led to a string of groundbreaking models. His design CV includes the MGF sports car and the original Freelander that created a new premium compact SUV sector in Europe. Then came the third-generation Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport, the Discovery Sport and the Velar — voted World Car Design Of The Year. But it was the pioneering Evoque that broke the SUV mould.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVOQUE
Gerry says: “The Evoque was very important because it did not exist in our range.
“It changed people’s perception of the Land Rover brand and attracted a new generation of customers, especially women. It was targeted to sell 30,000 a year, but consistently hit 130,000.”
However, Gerry thinks the new Defender will be the model he is remembered for. He says: “I am over the moon with it. I love that vehicle.
“We never worried about it, we were confident the design was right, but I have been overwhelmed by the positive response, even from the traditionalists.”
But he knows the acid test will be sales.
He says: “It is great to get positive comments and design accolades, but we are a business employing a lot of people whose livelihood depends on sales — in the end, sales success is what really matters.”
He is also excited about the new Range Rover due next year.
Gerry says: “The new model will look even better for the customer, not just aesthetically but also technologically.
“We are taking it back to its purest form with no extraneous detail, it is beautifully sculptured, proportioned and detailed — less is more.”
MOST READ IN MOTORS
He also gives an insight into an all-electric Land Rover and points to the recently announced hybrid-electric versions of the Evoque and Discovery Sport.
Gerry says: “Electrification still has a lot of issues but it gives you a lot of opportunities.
“We have to create an electric vehicle that represents the Land Rover values, it has to be relevant to what our customers want and it has to be fit for purpose as a Land Rover.
“I can tell you it will be highly desirable.”
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