New Land Rover Defender to be built in India: report | CarAdvice

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New Land Rover Defender to be built in India: report

LAND ROVER DEFENDER
By Brett Davis |
FIND DEALS

The Land Rover Defender has long been an icon of the British auto industry, being designed and built in the country. Now under Tata ownership, production of the next-generation Defender is set to take place in India.

Not due until 2015, the all-new Defender will apparently be built in Pune, India. In a recent interview with Autocar, Tata chairman Ratan Tata revealed moving production to India would cut costs and in turn keep purchase prices down.

Shifting production to India would also keep it close to key Asia-Pacific markets where the new model is expected to sell especially well, however it is believed some models could be shipped to Europe for final assembly.

The production facilities in Pune are set to build the upcoming Tata Aria SUV. According to the report the next Defender will share much of its major platform dimensions with the Tata so that it can share a similar production line, further saving costs.

As for the specifications and design of the 2015 Defender, it is believed the design will be inspired by the DC100 concepts first unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, while the vehicle will sit on a full frame chassis with the body bonded on top.

A likely choice for the chassis is a revised version of the current T5 platform which underpins the Discovery and the Range Rover Sport. The new model is expected showcase vast improvements over the current model, both dynamically and on the comfort and equipment front.


 

  • Henry Toussaint

    This ‘could’ lead to poor Quality, but I doubt it. It also may give it a 4 Star Saftey Rating….but i don’t know that yet….

    • Atul

      Mate ,suzuki Alto made in India selling here also India got VW,Toyota,Mercedes benz,GM,Ford,Range Rover,Fiat,BMW,Skoda,Audi,Renault,Nissan and peugeot manufacterin plant not Import like us ,they build cars same as International Quality,also Tata and Mahindra are their local car manufactuer company.

      • Henry Toussaint

        Ohh ok!

      • Bikerbear1

        Nothing from India is of serious quality. You will get what you pay for cheap made cars by an unskilled workforce paid slave wages

        • Bobthegob

          A BMW director once said ‘Quality does not depend on location, rather process’  JLR will ensure high standards are maintained.

        • Aarjun4you

          So what skill you have got bogan? Drink beer and moving in ute huh. Look at ur self first

    • DGS

      My experiance of Landrover Build Quality (IKEA car) make me think that it would be suprising if the Indians manage to do a worse job of it than the British. My father and Grandfather both have owned several landrovers each starting in the 1950′s, I like them but have not brought one as I prefer my cars to arrive in one piece and not require constant reassembely from new – I am not sure if Landrover has yet found a way to keep oil from leaking from the engine, every other manufacturer seems to have developed some top secret technology decades ago that keeps the driveway clear of a pool of oil.

      In short – Indian made Landrovers may be just as good or even better than the current ones. I may yet consider one. 

      • Phil

        Yes British car quality has traditionally been terrible as has their motoring technology.

        For technology check out a 2004 Discovery V8. With 4.0 (British) petrol engine and a awful 16.7/100km ADR consumption rate, you’d expect excellent performance. No, you only get 136KW/340NM and a 0-100km/h time of 12.8 secs!
        Going for the TD5 diesel won’t help either, despite a Turbo intercooled engine, you only get 101KW and the 0-100km/h time blows out to 17.8 secs.

        Yeesh and the reliability…..best thing to happen to them was having Ford’s far better quality control and technology put into them. Now with Indian owners, Land Rover couldn’t possibly be any worse then they were when they were all British owned.

      • Ibc

        Yeah,  I think that the Indians will put the oil on the other side – the inside!

      • Bikerbear1

        So what’s you experience of them you have never owned one .

      • Bobthegob

        You obviously live in the past old mate!  Do you really think people would keep paying £70,000+ for cars that leak oil and constantly break down?  Although not perfect (who is) JLR is up there with the best these days.  Too many people who judge cars are ill informed and go on what they have heard rather than what they know….I have owned many cars where for some brands people have stated they wouldn’t touch one of those, but have never even sat in one.  Go on, give in and try a modern Land Rover, you might be pleasantly surprised.

  • DAVIDZ

    Now when u break down and phone the 1 800 customer service #, its the same place as they are screwing it together, in culcatta!
    wont be any worse than uk

  • Tarquin, Hair Artiste

    Can I order mine with an in dash shrine? Id much prefer a factory item compared to aftermarket on this option. On a serous note, well done Tata… They are doing a great job so far with Jag and Land Rover. Making the Defender in India makes sense and I believe will result in a superior product.

    • Bikerbear1

      No it won’t ,it will damage the brand

    • Bikerbear1

      Don’t think Tata will have it for long after posting huge losses at Tata steel ,China is the new India cheap to manufacture and cheap labour don’t be surprised if it ends up in Chinese hands

      • harry

        except Tata has the reputation for never selling its acquisitions

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Derek-Brooke/1155415069 Derek Brooke

    It could not be possible for the Indians to produce a worst
    vehicle than the current defender, it’s absolutely abysmal the current model

    • Sievester

      I want a a real 4WD with 3500kg towing, solid axles on coils, a 1 ton payload and is highly configurable. The Defender offers this.

      If you want 7 cup holders and climate control well yeah by a Kluger or something.

    • Bikerbear1

      Do you own one or are you just one of the many who can’t afford own so you just rubbish it

    • Bikerbear1

      Do you own one I do I bought it 1 year ago and have had not a single problem with it ,typical of someone who does not own or can’t afford something is to try to rubbish it

  • Bj57

    Can’t get any worse!

  • shane

    Everything TATA has done for Land rover so far has been very positive, Just look at the
    growing sales figures! Im sure this product will be good, as the current defender is
    nothing like the rest of the Land Rover & Range Rover models.

    • Bikerbear1

      Quality comes at a price and sorry to say India does not have the skilled work force to build this. Other thing is people like this as its a Uk built icon ,ship it to India and that will damage the brand

  • Bikerbear1

    My god I hope this is not the new defender it looks cheap nasty . I bought the 2011 defender 90 built in the UK I honestly won’t replace it with this monstrosity .it will end the brand and will finish up as a cheap Indian car

  • Bikerbear1

    This won’t be built it is nothing like a defender it’s like a cheap Asian suv

  • Harry

    it better be just similar dimensions that it shares with the Aria, if it shares more it is doomed. I’m not sure how different the photo shown is to previous ones I have seen but it does seem to look better, ie more tyre profile etc. But it still doesn’t look like it could match the outgoing model for wheel travel, clearances etc. If it can’t better the old defender in every respect what is the point? they may as well just sell more variations of the Evoque

  • Belafonte

    i agree with harry. in respect to the indian manufacture – of course people like me from Australia or England would prefer a car that we will be owning, to be produced by us. This makes perfect sense! In any case, if it does not perform to the current Defenders specs as it appears it wont, and has traded its heritage for SUV plastic, it is certainly the end for Defender.

  • Antman

    I’ve owned a number of Land Rovers, Series 1, Series 3, Defender (TDI 300) and at the moment I have a Discovery 3 (TDV 6) and an unregistered exa-army Series 3 I run around some property I own. I’ve owned two other 4WDs. I thought about buying a Discovery 1 or 2 but people I knew who owned them were having all sorts of problems. My Discovery 3 has been great and the comfort is very car like.

    One thing with Series Land Rovers and Defenders are that they are just not like other vehicles and if you expect that then you will be disappointed. They are pretty primitive, flat pack things with ergonomics for a limited range of body types that have bags of clearance, light weight and plenty of low down torque. The engines are not about being first away at the lights. 

    I agree Belafonte, in a market that is driven by ‘style’ and cartoon visions of what off road vehicles should be, see Hummer H3 and possible Toyota FJ Cruiser, the Defender and the Mercedes G wagon are all that is left and what I see in the new Defender looks too ‘styled’ to be the real deal. The Defenders have maximum internal volume for minimum external volume because they are not all shaped and puffy, don’t have much to catch on the sides of deep ruts, overhanging branches and rocks. This looks the opposite, I think I could do lots of cosmetic damage just driving my property boundary and who knows what driving over the regrowth would do to the underbody eg fold over any light gauge steel items, stake the arirbag suspension if it has that and pull out any lose wiring or other items. All this can be done in a matter of minutes.

    I saw some mention of lots of useful off road technology. Interesting, possibly useful but so long as the car doesn’t rely on it to work then ok. I always think in terms of being able to get back out of somewhere I’ve driven into and my auto club or Land Rover road side assistance won’t help me there. In Australia I could be days from help so anything that relies too much on and expert is always a potential problem.

    As far as what impact being made in India might have, doubt it will impact the build quality, more likely it will be more consistent. I do think it will impact the prestige at least initially. If they do perform really well I think that would be soon overlooked as people buying Land Rovers (Range Rover and Discoveries excluded) have generally been attracted by a bit of history and a perception of what they can do.