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Drover



Member Since: 27 May 2011
Location: Central Coast NSW
Posts: 53

Australia 
TATA and the New Defender
TATA and the new Defender

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A bit more info on TATA's direction and the new Defender project

Mr Popham (Land Rovers Global Managing Director) said it took five years for his promise of a new Defender to get into the Land Rover product cycle plan.

“Part of the reason it has taken so long for us to decide how we are going to approach this is, how do you replace an icon … that sells in many segments but in small numbers,” he said.

Although work to define the new Defender’s role in various markets is ongoing, Mr Popham said the company had “come to the conclusion that we can make money” out of a Defender replacement.

Although Mr Popham was unable to provide details of what the new Defender might look like, he said Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern regarded the project as the “most exciting thing, even beyond the Evoque”.

After more than 60 years of production with only incremental changes, the Defender is no longer legal in some countries on emissions and safety grounds, leading to a forced withdrawal.

The venerable Defender was ousted long ago from Australia and Africa by the Toyota LandCruiser as favourite vehicle with which to go bush. The machine was dealt a further blow when the Australian Defence Force signed a contract with Mercedes-Benz in 2008 heralding the switch from Defenders to the G-Wagen.

To fuel the new model development and subsequent volume increase, a recruitment drive in the UK is adding 1500 production staff and 1000 engineers.



Despite the complexity of marketing a vehicle such as the Defender over the broader spectrum of appropriate market segments — and ensuring that buyers of the new vehicle won't be disappointed — Popham says that Land Rover has "come to the conclusion" that the company can make money out of investing in a new Defender, although it's "more likely" to emerge at "the end of the [five-year] business plan".

So prepare for a fracture in the space/time continuum. And steel yourself for another shock to the system too. According to local MD David Blackhall, Land Rover may take a leaf out of Toyota's book.

"I'm going to use the wrong words here... because it's not what we're going to do," he told the Carsales Network, "But if you think of the FJ Cruiser as a version of the [FJ40] LandCruiser... think of the Defender in that way, three or four years from now."

That suggests that the next Defender will retain some heritage styling (and packaging) cues, but won't go retro as Toyota has done with the FJ Cruiser.

Rumours in recent times have canvassed the prospect of Defender production moving to India. Logically, the traditional offroad vehicles, which are very labour-intensive to build, could be manufactured far more cost-effectively in India, where the cost of labour is much lower.

In response, Blackhall expressed the view that such an initiative may not be necessary once the new model arrives. Presumably a much more modern version of the Defender would also be engineered for easier and faster manufacture, which could enhance build quality also.

Asked subsequently whether there would be both goods-carrying (commercial) models as well as passenger-carrying variants in the next-gen Defender, Land Rover's Marketing and Public Affairs Manager, Tim Krieger, said that decision was "still very much in the embryonic stage," but the company is expected to "have more news later in the year."



I hope that they haven't taken to much notice of the FJ Cruiser....Wouldn't like to see the new Defender go down this road.

The FJ Cruiser is just a Prado with new clothes.

Cheers
Post #78894 4th Jul 2011 4:48am
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ob1



Member Since: 02 Feb 2010
Location: Pretoria
Posts: 8

South Africa 
Good read.

Glad the bloke that directs the design thinks it is byond the Evoqe.
Post #83143 5th Aug 2011 7:14am
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22900013A



Member Since: 23 Dec 2010
Location: Oxfordshire
Posts: 3139

United Kingdom 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Keswick Green
Interesting, but the bit about them not having decided if it will be a commercial or passenger carrying vehicle says it all. Glad I bought one when I did... 2011 110 USW
1973 Series III 1-Ton
1972 Series III 1-Ton Cherrypicker
1969 IIA 1-Ton
1966 IIA 88"
Post #83170 5th Aug 2011 1:17pm
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Red Desert



Member Since: 23 Aug 2010
Location: Lake Constance
Posts: 53

Germany 
Post #83205 5th Aug 2011 8:30pm
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Landyrob



Member Since: 07 Jul 2011
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 93

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 HT Alpine White
wonder what they have come up with... LANDROVER Defender Best 4 x 4 x Far
Defender TD4 90 Hardtop 2.4
Defender TD4 110 Hardtop 2.2
Post #83323 7th Aug 2011 2:21pm
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ken



Member Since: 18 Aug 2009
Location: Banging Birds with my bitches !!
Posts: 4328

United Kingdom 
Well i'll be at Frankfurt so I'll post a few pics
Post #83330 7th Aug 2011 4:04pm
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dilukabey



Member Since: 17 May 2011
Location: Sri Lanka
Posts: 173

2009 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Keswick Green
it is shame that there going to change the defender look and make it another show porney like fj cruiser or what ever. We all love defenders for its unique style and if there are going to change this machine to another common vehicle....... very sad!!!
Post #83334 7th Aug 2011 4:50pm
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