Range Rover Evoque Cabrio imminent

Range Rover floated the idea of an Evoque drop-top at the 2012 Geneva motor show purely as a design concept, but it appears as though the car is now almost certain to reach production.

Land Rover Global Brand Director John Edwards told Australian media the car has strong appeal and will be built "If I get my way".

He said it was a "car we want to do" and when quizzed if it was more likely than not to be built, he said: "I hope so yes".

"We're very close to making a decision one way or the other," Edwards added.

The only other mainstream convertible SUV, Nissan's Murano, was panned by the media when it was first shown at the 2010 Los Angeles motor show, but Land Rover executives say the Evoque cabrio is in a different league in terms of style and refinement.

"Not sure that [Murano] is a very good case study," opined Edwards, who pointed out that Evoque manufacturing was at capacity, with the company selling 100,000 per year. He highlighted MINI's product portfolio expansion as a example of what Land Rover intends to do.

"We're selling a lot of Evoques at the moment [and] one of the tricks of the MINI is to give those customers somewhere to go when buying their next car, so it's a great opportunity in that respect," he said.

The Land Rover supremo said reaction to the vehicle was generally very encouraging: "It's been pretty positive in the markets where we think we might sell it in volume," he added, citing Europe and USA as key targets for the premium convertible SUV.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Global Operations Director, Phil Popham, also talked up the Evoque convertible's appeal, saying response to the car was "overwhelmingly positive".

"[There was] very little negative sentiment, only from areas where we wouldn’t think we'd sell it anyway. It would be breaking new ground, there isn't another car like it."

Popham said the cloth-roofed four-seater SUV would most likely be built on the same line as the Evoque SUV in the UK, to maintain quality control. However he revealed that JLR was actively seeking new manufacturing bases to cope with increased demand for its vehicles, and also its expanding product range, the latter expected to include a new BMW 3 Series rival in the next few years.

"We are also looking at the feasibility of continuing to expand our manufacturing footprint, which we think we need to do to be a truly global company," he said, confirming that he was in talks with the Saudi Arabian and Brazilian governments to set up production bases in those countries.

"We're undertaking a feasibility study in conjunction with the Saudi government at the moment. The same way with Brazil: we're working with the government there to understand the incentives and tax position to identify if it makes sense to build for the long term."

Around 85 per cent of Jaguar Land Rover products are exported internationally, and Popham says countries like Saudi Arabia will become more attractive due to government incentives. Currently no global car makers manufacture in Saudi Arabia, "But I suspect in time we'll see premium manufacturers there," predicted Popham.