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2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class vs big luxury off-roaders: How they compare on paper

During our first drive of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the all-new SUV's product manager was asked to identify competitors that might have been benchmarked in its development. The look on his face was about the same as if someone had asked him to recite King Lear in Klingon. As far as Andreas Hoeppel was concerned, the G 550 and AMG G 63 doesn't actually have a rival, or at least something the engineers and designers thought to compare it against. The G-Class is a G-Class, who cares what the other guys are doing? Well, in case you care, we figured we'd plug the new G-Class' specs into the old Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (TM) to see how the G 550 and AMG G 63 compare to the Range Rover and its mightiest SVAutobiography Dynamic model, plus the Lexus LX 570 and Bentley Bentayga V8. Frankly, Heir Hoeppel was onto something as each of these is wildly different. But, they do share some common elements: giant size and weight, ultra-lux interiors, and far more off-roading capability than other luxury SUVs offer and any of its owners are likely to ever utilize. Sad. So enjoy this trip down specification lane, and if you're still left hungry, you can always check out our Range Rover comparison or create your very own comparo. Off-Road Clearances and Capability All the fancy off-roading software and special cameras in the world won't do you a lick of good if your SUV is too close to the ground or has low-hanging body work that'll get easily ripped off. As such, check out each of these uber-SUV's ground clearance, approach and departure angles, and wading/fording depths. In this case, the Range Rover has an advantage due to its air suspension that can raise itself into an Off-Roading height that's a whopping 2 inches higher than the new G-Wagen. Sadly for itself, Lexus only provides figures for its air suspension when in normal height. It could match or surpass the Range Rover for all we know (but doubt it). As Land Rover does provide figures for the Range Rover's approach and departure angles in normal and Off-Road height, you can get an idea of just how much clearance the new G-Wagen has without any fancy (and expensive to fix) raising and lowering air suspension hardware. In fact, its departure angle is better than even the Range Rover's Off-Road height. Bentley doesn't provide any such information despite touting the Bentayga's surprising off-roading talents.

Jaguar Land Rover invests $1.5B to build factory in Slovakia

Jaguar Land Rover will invest 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion at current rates) to build a new factory in Nitra, Slovakia. Construction will commence in 2016, and the site will have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year when the first of them roll out in late 2018. JLR expects to employ 2,800 people there. JLR won't yet say what vehicle it will build in Slovakia, other than it will be an all-new aluminum model. The 2018 timing for the plant's start of production seems to coincide with the launch of the radically different next-gen Land Rover Defender, though. Earlier reports suggested that JLR also considered locations in North America, particularly Georgia, and Europe for the new factory. However, the company signaled the Slovakia choice earlier this year when it signed a letter of intent with the government there in August. The automaker then did a final feasibility study before committing to the site. The new factory continues JLR's recent manufacturing expansion. The company opened an engine plant in the UK last year and a factory in China. There will also be one soon in Brazil, and it will reportedly bid to buy the Silverstone Circuit as a new headquarters. JAGUAR LAND ROVER CONFIRMS NEW FACTORY IN SLOVAKIA • New world-class premium manufacturing facility confirmed in Nitra • The next stage of the Company's plans for sustainable global growth • Today's announcement also supports long-term investment in the UK Bratislava, Slovakia – Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it will be the first British carmaker to open a manufacturing facility in Slovakia. The announcement follows an agreement between the company and the Government of the Slovak Republic to build a new plant in the city of Nitra, western Slovakia. The new world-class GBP1 billion premium manufacturing facility will eventually employ around 2,800 people. Today's announcement follows Jaguar Land Rover's recent confirmation to double its investment in its engine plant in the UK to almost GBP1 billion – the largest injection into a new British manufacturing plant in decades creating several hundred new jobs. Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover commented, "Jaguar Land Rover is delighted today to welcome Slovakia into our family. The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the UK, China, India and Brazil and marks the next step in the company's strategy to become a truly global business.

Jaguar Land Rover names ousted Renault boss as new CEO

LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has picked ousted Renault boss Thierry Bollore as its next chief executive, with a mission to return Britain's biggest carmaker to profit after a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Bollore took over at Renault in January 2019 after the fall of Carlos Ghosn, but was always viewed as close to the French carmaker's longtime boss and was pushed out in October when the company was looking for a fresh start. Bollore will take over at JLR on Sept. 10, replacing Ralf Speth, whose tenure ends after more than 10 years. "It will be my privilege to lead this fantastic company through what continues to be the most testing time of our generation," Bollore said in a statement on Tuesday. JLR was hit this year first by disruption to sales in China and then by lockdowns across Europe and North America as the COVID-19 outbreak spread around the globe. In 2019, it cut jobs to address tumbling diesel sales, which helped it return to profit. But as the pandemic struck, it slumped to a pretax loss of 422 million pounds ($545 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020. The company has already taken steps to tackle the crisis, including agreeing to a loan facility of around $700 million with lenders in China and further staff reductions. JLR is also in talks with the British government over potential support, according to media reports. Bollore takes over a business that built just over 500,000 cars in 2019/20. He faces a number of tasks, including how to handle the Jaguar brand, which underperforms the Land Rover marque, how quickly to electrify its lineup and a potential hit from Brexit if trade barriers are imposed. JLR has a partnership with BMW on electrification, and parent company Tata Motors recently recommitted to the company. "Tata Group recognizes and values Jaguar Land Rover's future potential highly," said JLR Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran earlier this month. "That is why this company is central to our global automotive presence – a presence that we intend to develop for years to come." Related Video:         (Additional reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)