Evoque cabrio confirmed!
Brand boss delivers personal thumbs up before board decision is dueLand Rover seems certain to build a convertible version of its stunningly popular Range Rover Evoque compact SUV.
The convertible appeared as a concept at the Geneva motor show last March and a Land Rover board decision on its fate is due before the end of 2012.
Land Rover global brand director John Edwards told motoring.com.au at the Paris motor show overnight that he backed the program: “I think we will build it,” he said.
“It’s my personal preference, but we have not made the decision. It is a business decision … and we just need to agree whether it fits in our business plan.”
At the same time Edwards rejected any prospect of a rumoured seven-seater Evoque ever being built.
He has also expressed concerns about Land Rover getting involved in the emerging sub-compact SUV segment because a rush of new metal is setting it up to be a “blood bath”.
Edwards’ concerns will be noted at Audi, which unveiled the Crosslane concept in Paris. This is effectively a Q2 crossover that pitches right into the segment Edwards was warning about.
“There is massive growth in the lower priced cars and crossovers,” Edwards said. “Everyone is introducing product into this area of the market. And we could do that - but whether we could make money is a separate issue.
“That is going to be a bloodbath because so many manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon and producing cars down there. We may do, we may not.”
Rumours of a sub-Evoque model were prompted by the company’s influential design chief, Gerry McGovern, musing on the idea during a media interview.
“What was he on about?” Edwards joked.
The seven-seater hasn’t even get to that stage of consideration, Edwards said: “It was never even remotely in our plans. The (Evoque) design concept does not lend itself to a seven-seater.”
By contrast, the convertible is very much an in-the-metal prospect.
“We are selling a lot of Evoques and we need to be constantly refreshing it, giving people another reason to come back and look at it,” said Edwards. “It’s a great lifecycle opportunity and that’s why I am in favour of it.
“There are other things we are thinking about with Evoque though … other ways we could spend our money.”
The convertible concept retained the looks and proportions of the three-door donor vehicle, but the metal roof made way for a powered soft-top roof with a glass rear screen that stowed in a compartment below the rear deck.
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