Land Rover is readying a raft of new models over the next four years that will take it into new sectors and will culminate in the launch of a model that revives the spirit of the original Freelander.
The diverse new cars, which also include a £250,000 Range Rover coupeÃ, a Defender pick-up truck and a more car-like Range Rover, will cash in on the booming growth of premium 4x4s, with the aim of elevating Land Rover sales and profits to new heights.
Most crucial to the growth targets are new entry-level models. Inspiring these plans is the success of the original Freelander, which invented the idea of a soft-roader when it was launched in 1997 and became a best-seller in Europe.
Opinion: a plethora of new models is just what Land Rover needs
Land Rover is keen to do this again, this time with models that are even smaller than the Freelander Mk1.
The first of these small models, which will be around 4.2 metres in length, could arrive in 2021, although debate is ongoing about which of Land Rover’s three model strands – leisure (as typified by the Discovery Sport), luxury (Range Rover) or utility (the next Defender) – it will join. The company is considering adding a baby SUV for each of these ranges in the long term.
Autocar understands that a smaller vehicle to sit below the Discovery Sport in the ‘leisure’ range has the greatest appeal within Land Rover, particularly as it would fill an obvious gap in the company’s line-up andwould compete in a segment where it has plenty of history with the Freelander. When the Discovery Sport replaced the Freelander in 2014, the model grew in size and went more upmarket, leaving space in the range for an affordable offering beneath it.
At the time, Land Rover officials told Autocar that the Freelander name had not necessarily been permanently retired. The badge could be ripe for a return on the new small SUV, although Land Rover is wary of adding yet another model name to its range at a time when only the Range Rover strand of its line-up has been firmly established globally, through fears that it could confuse potential buyers.
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A baby LR gets my vote. BUT
A baby LR gets my vote. BUT it definitely has to look different from the other LR clones, be affordable, and smaller than the land whales that infest my part of the Cotswolds.
ALL thats ALL agency staff
ALL thats ALL agency staff were never on a permanent contract, end of, they were ONLY EVER to cover the changes in plant and thats all done now, with all the five UK production bases at near to capacity, which is a fact, then thats why they have built plants all over the world, the Ingenium range of engines meets and exceeds all known current and upcoming criterior, for those that say the opposite, the XE, XF and F-Type are all in profit, as are all the Land Rover products, along with E and F-Pace, the only model thats not making large profits is the XJ, but that will change with the next generation version.It is a shame that the usual moaners have to put everything down they are doing, instead of congratulating them on continued sales, new models, more staff than at any point in history, and making significant profits too, that some companies far bigger can only dream about.But the Hey Ho, there are those that just love to moan and groan
jonboy4969 wrote:
And the 350-ish EMPLOYEES that have been redeployed? Yes, new plants, bringing on additional capacity just as the market is likely to be peaking. What do you define as 'in profit', because as JLR's volumes and revenues were increasing their margins have been falling, i.e less profitibility. That's not a good thing because it means costs have been increasing too much and will be exacerabated by any fall in volumes/revenues.
jonboy4969 wrote:
ALL THATS ALL one of me mates was ajency staff!!!! loosing his job mate! nice to you no ou care so much , blimey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But what this issue has shown is how exposed JLR's model range is to changing markets. The smallest shift from diesel power has created a very unwanted situation. Had they fed the huge profit margins they make directly back into the company much earlier, blostered existing model lines by introducing a more varied model line up into their non SUV products they may have had models available to shift existing and potential customers towards, models that were more suited to petrol power. The Ingenium project has also not been too sucessful being undeveloped at time of release, the catch time that has been needed to finish development has pulled engineering labour off the development of the non inline four versions, further delaying their release. They have at least managed to fit in the IPace, although with fully electrified models still taking up a tiny volume in the market, particulalry the in UK, this model is not, and will not be enough to fill the decreasing production volume from the loss of diesel sales. In all the situation is recoverable, but what we will see, is this being used as a further excuse by JLR to slowly pull production from the UK to lower cost base countires.
Not many moaning groaning mate!!!!!!! some just ofering opinon mate!!!!!!!!!!! just saying like!! theres many on ere like u who clearly no feck all !!!!!
What dafuq?
Did the old freelander have "any original spirit", to be revived?"