Land Rover Discovery intends to expand range

The grounds for launching Land Rover Defender are all set for the British automaker at the Frankfurt Motor Show and ahead of it, the company's official state the plans of refocusing the Discovery model. Currently, the Discovery family has a two-model lineup - full-size and a Sport model, and now the firm intends to expand this family.

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer of Land Rover states, “two doesn’t make a family when discussing the current Discovery line-up. Discovery sits in that world of versatility. These are the current vehicles, more to come. For me, two don’t make a family," After the launch of new Defender, the opportunity for repositioning the Discovery arises. 

The sales records of Discovery full-size and Sport show their popularity in Australia, and specifically for Discovery Sport, the downwards expansion of the model seems profitable for the firm. It may include a smaller version of Discovery Sport which would compete BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA, and Audi Q3 in the market. The smaller Sports model will probably have the same Discovery badge, with an added extension to the name to spotlight its linkage with the Discovery family.

In Australia, the Land Rover has sold 1305 units (Year to Date) of Discovery full-size model and sold 2055 units (Year to Date) of Discovery Sports. So, the upcoming addition of a smaller version will bring a better competitive advantage for the firm in the luxury class, as the firm has no smaller SUV in its palette to compete with others in the category. 

The upcoming Defender is more like full-size Discovery in terms of strength and versatility, but the potential of extra toughness on off-road is different. The Defender will come in three body styles- 90, 110 and 130. All the styles include an automatic transmission and a standard all-wheel-drive along with a choice of six engines. The engine options include petrol and diesel with reports of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit making its way to lower variants to a turbocharged 6-cylinder unit making its way to higher variants.

Also read: 2020 Land Rover Defender image leaked