Land Rover has ambitious plans to double their annual sales by 2020 by launching a slew of 16 models covering all segments of the global SUV market – utility, leisure and luxury. The company’s plans encompass new Range Rover models, a new Defender family, and four new leisure SUVs in the Freelander range within the next seven years.
The company has not commented on the potential size of the market once they introduce their seven-year plan. Market data however suggests a size of 22 million units for the global SUV market by 2020 and with a possible 3% of that market, Land Rover should be producing around 600,000 vehicles a year. The company plans to introduce an ‘Evoque XL’ to plug the gap between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport, a convertible Evoque, and a ‘baby’ three-door 4m Range Rover as part of a six-model Range Rover lineup.
The new Land Rover ‘leisure’ lineup will comprise at least five new models, starting with an entry-level Freelander (matching the size of the Evoque), a five- and seven-seater Freelander, and a range-topping new Discovery, which could be made with an aluminum platform and could rival the BMW X5. In the ‘dual purpose’/’utility’ segment, the Evoque-based DC100 is believed to be ready for sale, along with a long-awaited Defender replacement. There are also plans for five- and seven-seater Defenders and a crew-cab pickup. The expansion is expected to strain the engineering and investment capabilities of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), with 40 new JLR launches in the next five years. A total of £10 billion (£2 billion a year) is proposed to be invested for higher capacity in the UK and for at least one new platform.
