To celebrate the One Millionth Land Rover Discovery being built in the UK, a £1 million (GBP) fundraiser has been launched. The appeal is in aid of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), a Land Rover Global Humanitarian Partner.
The capability and versatility of the one-millionth Discovery vehicle will be well and truly tested to the limits during the course of this expedition – a gruelling 50 day, 8000 mile journey from Solihull, Birmingham to Beijing, China. The expedition ends up at the Beijing Auto Show on 23 April.
John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Global Brand Director: “Land Rover is delighted to have launched the One Million Pound fundraiser in aid of the IFRC – an organisation we have had a relationship with since 1954.
“It is truly incredible in this day and age that clean water – a basic human right and something we take for granted every day – is still the most common and preventable underlying cause of disease and death today. The funds raised will be donated to a water sanitation project in Uganda, which we hope to help over 45,000 beneficiaries.”
Goli Ameri, Under Secretary General, Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy, of the IFRC said: “We are pleased to welcome the Land Rover One Millionth expedition to the city of Geneva, home to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“Just think, for only £22, we can provide someone with access to safe water and basic sanitation for ten years. If we raise £1 million GBP, it will help us provide a further 45,000 people in Uganda with clean water and sanitation. This would be a fantastic achievement.”
‘The Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition’ was the original 1955 journey and undertaken by six Oxford & Cambridge university students in two Land Rover Series I Station Wagons from London to Singapore and back. The expedition was both filmed and documented, and the footage broadcast in the mid-50s on BBC television, endorsed by Sir David Attenborough.
Tim Slessor, one of the original Oxbridge expedition team wrote ‘The First Overland’, a book recounting the historically significant expedition, as it was the first such journey of this type by vehicle, and became the last recorded vehicular journey along the Ledo Road from India into Burma, before the border between the two countries was closed. Tim Slessor and Patrick Murphy were guests of honour at the send-off launch event last week at the Solihull plant.
The expedition crew comprises of Land Rover Experience expedition experts and the convoy consists of three Discovery 4 vehicles in full expedition trim. The expedition route passes through the following countries: UK, France, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and ending in China.
The Discovery was first introduced 23 years ago in 1989 and since launch has received over 200 international awards. The latest, Discovery 4, was launched in 2009 and is one of the most versatile and capable all-terrain vehicles in the world. In 2011, around 45,000 sold across 170 global markets with 83% of volume exported.
To follow the ‘Journey of Discovery’ and details of how to donate to, please visit: www.landrover.com/million