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NEWS
Growth pains for JLR
At least 10 new models currently under development at Jaguar Land RoverJaguar Land Rover is struggling under the strain of developing at least 10 new models at the same time, as part of its publicly stated promise to release 40 new products in the next five years.
Speaking at the global launch of the fourth-generation Range Rover (pictured) in Morocco last week, Jaguar Land Rover Director of Programs Wolfgang Epple said that number will include redesigned, additional, facelifted and special models from both brands, including next year’s ground-breaking new Range Rover hybrid.
But he also confirmed a recent Autocar report that said Land Rover’s model line-up alone would comprise 16 different models by 2020, when the company expected global SUV sales to top 20 million annual sales. Mr Epple, a 27-year BMW veteran who has been with JLR less than six months, said the British-based Indian-owned company’s future model plans were more ambitious than his previous employer’s – just four years after the company was on its financial knees when Ford sold JLR to Tata in 2008.
He said JLR received about 35,000 applications for the 1000 manufacturing jobs to install a third shift at Halewood, where the Evoque has been produced around the clock since July to keep up with demand. The smallest Range Rover will attract in excess of 100,000 sales this year – almost double the company’s original forecast - making it Land Rover’s most successful model ever.
Mr Epple said JLR is now undertaking its largest ever recruitment drive to find enough engineers to develop the unprecedented number of new models. He said the lion’s share will come from rival car-makers and universities, some of which are now tailoring their graduate degrees to meet JLR’s requirements.
While the 405-series Rangie and early next year’s all-new Jaguar F-TYPE are included in the 40 new JLR products in the next five years, the remaining 38 will include the renewal of the entire Land Rover range, which will expand to 16 models by 2020.
As we’ve reported, Land Rover will split its range into three distinct ‘pillars’ to fully exploit all areas of the snowballing global SUV market, including ‘luxury’, ‘leisure’ and ‘utility’. Naturally, the latter will be spearheaded by a new-generation Defender line-up that will grow to comprise five models including a dual-cab utility in the second half of this decade and is expected to also be produced in India.
The leisure channel, meantime, will be topped in 2014 by a new all-aluminium Discovery, which will move significantly upmarket to rival BMW’s X6 for the first time. The new Discovery will be based on the same highly scalable and modular new PLA (Premium Lightweight Architecture) platform as the new Rangie and Rangie Sport.
The new Disco will be supported by an expanded Freelander family. While a facelifted Freelander II will arrive in Australia in January, its replacement is likely to comprise entry-level, plus five-seat and seven-seat Discovery-badged versions, probably called ‘Discovery Sport’.
Up to five new ‘leisure’ models from Land Rover will be joined by a six-model ‘luxury’ line-up from Range Rover, topped by the Mk4 Rangie due in local showrooms from February.
Below that will be the redesigned 2013 Range Rover Sport and new two-door convertible and ‘XL’ versions of the Evoque, to be positioned between the existing three- and five-door Evoques, while Autocar reports that a new three-door ‘baby Rangie’ measuring just four metres long is also being considered.
While the Rangie, Rangie Sport and Disco will all be built at what Land Rover claims is the world’s largest automotive aluminium body shop in Solihull, Halewood is likely to continue to produce the Evoque and closely related Freelander (Disco Sport) range.
JLR has committed £2 billion a year over the next five years to support the ambitious product expansion plan, however, some Land Rover models will also be built in China, where JLR has signed a joint-venture arrangement with Chery.
Just as it is in other developing auto markets including Russia and Brazil, SUV sales are surging in China, which has traditionally been a sedan market and where JLR is planning to have the capacity to initially produce 130,000 vehicles annually – 60 per cent of which will be Land Rovers.
What’s coming from Land Rover:
Freelander II 13MY – January
Discovery 4 13MY – January
Range Rover 4 – February
Range Rover LWB – 2013
Range Rover Hybrid – 2013
Range Rover Sport – 2013
Discovery 5 – 2014
Evoque Convertible – 2014
Freelander III -2015
Discovery Sport - 2015
Defender range - 2015
Evoque ‘XL’ - TBC
‘Baby Rangie’ – TBC
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Written byMarton Pettendy
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