Land Rover is looking to broaden its model lineup to 16 vehicles by 2020, easily the largest investment the British automaker has ever made in its products, as it looks to take advantage of the booming SUV market.
Land Rover plans on expanding all three of its model families, including additional models to the Range Rover lineup, a new Defender family of vehicles, and four new SUVs for the Freelander family over the next seven years.
According to the automaker’s design director, Gerry McGovern, Land Rover will extend its Range Rover family to to six models, including a larger ‘Evoque XL’ model and a convertible Evoque. In addition, a smaller three-door Range Rover is being considered, measuring in slightly over 13 feet.
Land Rover will also be expanding its lineup with ‘leisure’ models which will add at least five new models including an entry-level Freelander that will be similar in size to the current Evoque. The Freelander will so a redesign with both five-seater and seven-seater offerings. At the top of the range will be a new Discovery and will be a flagship model to compete against the BMW X5.
As for its ‘dual purpose’ or ‘utility’ segment, the automaker is hinting that a production version of the DC100 will be heading to the showrooms while a replacement will be incoming for the Defender. The new Defender will also be available in five- or seven-seater form while a crew-cab pickup will join the model lineup.
[Source: Autocar UK]