Land Rover’s Design Director. Gerry McGovern says they are considering a new model to sit below the Range Rover Evoque.
But the arrival of the new Range Rover is just the first piece in Land Rover’s quest to renew its ageing range of luxury SUVs over the next couple of years.
Next in line for replacement is the 2014 Range Rover Sport which will follow its big brother by shedding an enormous amount of weight and, we expect, become as dynamic on-road as it is impressive off-road.
That will be followed by the 2014 Land Rover Discovery 5 – which will lose even more weight than the new Range Rover has – and then the new Land Rover Defender which is expected to come in two versions – the ‘Leisure’ model based on the DC100 Sport and the workhorse alternative based on the DC100.
What we don’t yet know is if Land Rover will continue with the Freelander – which continues to sell well – but we do know they are planning LWB versions of most of their new range.
But in addition to the replacement of the entire Land Rover range over the next few years, it now seems that Land Rover are considering building a smaller Evoque to mop up sales in the burgeoning sub-compact SUV market.
That may be a step too far for Land Rover anoraks, but in a world where smaller is becoming cooler, it may be a smart move. Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Brand Design Director, told Automotive News:
Certainly, I think we can go smaller. In a world focusing on sustainability you could argue that smaller and lighter is the way to go. Some of the most expensive, most luxurious products in the world are incredibly small. Look at jewellery. (but) You might argue that the confidence of being cocooned would start to be pushed.
But the realisation that the already much smaller Evoque is selling almost as many as the rest of the Land Rover range put together (90,000 so far) is focusing minds at Land Rover.
But if there is to be a new ‘Baby’ Evoque, it probably won’t be until at least 2016.
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