Thread: The "New" Defender,.....When?

Next Land Rover Defender will 'have to wash its face' to gain broader appeal




Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern said in an interview with English newspaper the Shropshire Star that the next-generation Defender will need to achieve a five-fold sales increase in order to support its business case. Getting from 20,000 annual sales to 100,000 means "we have to broaden its appeal," to make it "more relevant to the modern world, lighter, more aerodynamic and more cost effective." Or, as he sums it up, "the new model will have to wash its face."

McGovern says the Defender "has never sold on its design," which is true and false. The farmers, international NGO workers and game park wardens, those who toil in the hinterlands and drive off into the wild blue yonder, are less concerned about the Defender's aesthetics than the fact that it can be rebuilt in the field with a couple of wrenches and some electrical tape. But the lifestyle buyers, the ones cruising London and Paris and paying $90,000 or more in the US to import a 25-year-old model, they're buying it for its design as much for what it stands for - you know, the cred it earned thanks to those other buyers.

Not that it matters, because the whole lot of them still aren't buying nearly enough to justify a new one. A Defender that makes more friends will necessarily be a kinder-looking truck - McGovern characterizes it as less "overtly functional" and "more sophisticated." The only saving grace for fans of the current vehicle is that it will take so long to figure out the new vehicle that won't be here until "at least two years or more from now."

I'm still not convinced McGovern is the lead designer we need on this one.

What he says is perfectly true about the sales, being lighter, more aerodynamic and more cost effective.
But if he loses the toughness and the ability to be configured into a work truck then the icon is lost.

Originally Posted by Dougal

I'm still not convinced McGovern is the lead designer we need on this one.

What he says is perfectly true about the sales, being lighter, more aerodynamic and more cost effective.
But if he loses the toughness and the ability to be configured into a work truck then the icon is lost.

Yes, & I believe the "iconic" nature of the Defender is what would have generated many of the 16-20000 or whatever sales last year, which number however is clearly not enough for any real business case.
I don't know what they'll do,...something more modern, more "rounded", lighter, more user friendly.
I also have a feeling that with the massive success of Evoque, and the popularity of Disco, Range Rover, the fact that JLR is going to build new engines etc etc etc, Defender is not going to be a top priority for JLR as they so many other successful profit making, sales generating, projects on the go.
Cheers, Pickles.

They could build twice the number they currently do and sell them all without issue, order a new one and it's a 6-8 month wait before you see your car.

There's also a fairly high percentage of sales are affluent persons buying it as a 3rd or 4th car for whatever reason, fashion or otherwise.
The fact that the production line is almost entirely Manual, compared to the like of Rangie and Disco production that's almost entirely mechanised.

It's these factors that are killing the Defender as we know it, and those at the top are happy to cash in on the lifestyle image that comes from its reputation as it will sell vehicles and make money.

I like # 8.
Familiar "square rigged" styling although updated, but with the "family" face, well certainly connecting with the Disco's & RRS. Be nice to see some other views of it though.
I think it's a contemporary reworking of the shape and from a corporate perspective provides a solid link to the other products in the stable. Which in theory should keep traditionalists and the marketing department appeased, if not actually happy!
...but then, I like the Startech 3.1 - so I must be on crack
Cheers
Mike

Originally Posted by Pickles2

Defender is not going to be a top priority for JLR as they so many other successful profit making, sales generating, projects on the go.
Cheers, Pickles.

The one saving grace there is Tata. They bought landrover because they like landrovers. Tata builds military trucks.
So likely exactly the boss McGovern needs to keep him on track.

This is the only concept I've seen that looks like a proper evolution of the Defender, undeniably LR but still a distant cousin of the Discos - as someone else stated and an observation I also independently made, the DC100 looks like a trumped up Mini wagon - yuk!

Originally Posted by Didge

This is the only concept I've seen that looks like a proper evolution of the Defender, undeniably LR but still a distant cousin of the Discos - as someone else stated and an observation I also independently made, the DC100 looks like a trumped up Mini wagon - yuk!

Isn't the same thing with a different grille doing the rounds as a ford bronco concept?

Why yes it is:




Undeniably landrover huh?