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| Drover Member Since: 27 May 2011 Location: Central Coast NSW Posts: 53  
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TATA and the new Defender
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 |
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4th Jul 2011 4:48am |
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| ob1 Member Since: 02 Feb 2010 Location: Pretoria Posts: 8 
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Good read.
Glad the bloke that directs the design thinks it is byond the Evoqe. |
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5th Aug 2011 7:14am |
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| 22900013A Member Since: 23 Dec 2010 Location: Oxfordshire Posts: 3149  
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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" |
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5th Aug 2011 1:17pm |
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| Red Desert Member Since: 23 Aug 2010 Location: Lake Constance Posts: 53 
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5th Aug 2011 8:30pm |
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| ken Member Since: 18 Aug 2009 Location: Banging Birds with my bitches !! Posts: 4328
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Well i'll be at Frankfurt so I'll post a few pics
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7th Aug 2011 4:04pm |
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| dilukabey Member Since: 17 May 2011 Location: Sri Lanka Posts: 173 
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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!!!
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7th Aug 2011 4:50pm |
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