New Defender up on LRA website!

[Scallops]

Just checked LRA website this morning - all the info (icluding price) on the new Defender is up....

http://www.landrover.com.au/au/en/Vehicles/New_Defender/Defender_overview.htm

[wovenrovings]

I see they only have the 110 wagon and 130 dual cab up there. Will any of the other models be available such as the 90 or 110 cab chassis, even on special order?

[x-box]

Now that should see a flurry of activity???

I'll be having a look as well :)

[JDNSW]

I see they only have the 110 wagon and 130 dual cab up there. Will any of the other models be available such as the 90 or 110 cab chassis, even on special order?

Suggests that they have completely abandoned the work vehicle market, where the main seller would be the 130 single cab/chassis or traytop. But I would be a bit surprised if it was not available to special order at least. Possibly not there because they are still working on getting its detailed specifications nailed down - for example, "how spartan do we make it"?.

But disappointing sales of the 90 Td5 makes this unlikely, and the same for other 110 models; hardtop - not sold well for years, cab/chassis - most buyers would prefer the 130, standard or HCPU ute - tray tops have had the market for thirty or forty years; soft top - when did they last sell a civilian one?.

John

[Defender=1st]

Yay i went on, on Tuesday and it was listed as 2007 Defender but could not be displayed when i clicked

[spudboy]

At last! I wonder if they have made mine yet :D

[ATH]

I'd love one but not with all that computerised technology which can go wrong with no back-up for a million miles when in the bush.
I know LRA will come and get you etc., and even after the original warranty they helped us when the Td5 went wrong, but it was so damn inconvenient having to wait 3 weeks for the thing to get back home!
Plus the rules of the car transporters that EVERYTHING not original equipment has to be off loaded. We managed to get away with it that time but apparently they've cracked down on it now.
So I'll stick with the 300Tdi for a while yet.
AlanH.

[numpty]

Suggests that they have completely abandoned the work vehicle market, where the main seller would be the 130 single cab/chassis or traytop. But I would be a bit surprised if it was not available to special order at least. Possibly not there because they are still working on getting its detailed specifications nailed down - for example, "how spartan do we make it"?.

But disappointing sales of the 90 Td5 makes this unlikely, and the same for other 110 models; hardtop - not sold well for years, cab/chassis - most buyers would prefer the 130, standard or HCPU ute - tray tops have had the market for thirty or forty years; soft top - when did they last sell a civilian one?.

John

I don't think the 130 Tray back has been available in Australia for quite a few years, same for the 110 Tray Back. The 130 Crew cab was only available as special order for the last couple of years also.

[PAT303]

I was told off the record by a salesman that LR don't want the work market they want the high end FL2,D3,RR market.That is why there is no dealers in the bush. Pat

[incisor]

I was told off the record by a salesman that LR don't want the work market they want the high end FL2,D3,RR market.That is why there is no dealers in the bush. Pat
you have it in one, that want the luxury market not the adventure market..

lets hope some one with an interest in that end of the market buys it before they totally destroy it...

[Phoenix]

lets hope some one with an interest in that end of the market buys it before they totally destroy it...

My fingers are crossed for that.

With a few tweaks, and some decent marketing they could sell a heck of a lot of defenders and other similar bottom end price 4wd's

[jimbo110]

Looks like we get all three, 90, 110 and 130:p

http://www.landrover.co.nz/nz/en/Vehicles/Defender/Models/model_comparison.htm

[scrambler]

Now, now. Just because you get ALL the variants, including the 110 dual cab ...

Almost worth emigrating for :D

[Outlaw]

Hmmm wonder what the deal with importing a new vehicle from NZ is for a 110 DC @ AU$55,693

[scrambler]

Another way of looking at it is that the dual cab is the same list price as the wagon - should mean that if available here it would list at $48K and-a-bit. I'd have thought that at that price they'd sell.

I also notice that the NZ website has a "Professional and Adventure" section that the local lads didn't use. I think that says something ...

[solmanic]

Hmmm wonder what the deal with importing a new vehicle from NZ is for a 110 DC @ AU$55,693

Following on from our earlier thread about bulk purchasing and importing from overseas - I notice that the following wording appears on the LRA website...

New vehicles must be purchased from Dealers.

Still, we have learned that a multiple purchase from any one dealer may be price competetive.

[Davo]

I'm in Fitzroy Crossing and everything up here is Toyota. I'm surprised they don't make all the white goods and wheelbarrows, too!

I am continually amazed by Land-Rover's failure to serve the work market. At work we've got nothing but Landcruiser traybacks, 100 Series utes, and a Hilux. All across town and outlying communities there must be 3 or4 million dollars worth of Toyotas of various ages. They do last fairly well, given the conditions. But mostly they're here because there's not much other choice!

Naturally, everyone thinks I'm mad for owning an ancient Land-Rover and not a newer Toyota.

It is great to see that the Landie 130 is still available. Cheaper than I would have thought, too! (Did I just say that?)

[ak]

Traction control and ABS. Wonder if it will give less problems than it does on the current D2's.

[jimbo110]

Another way of looking at it is that the dual cab is the same list price as the wagon - should mean that if available here it would list at $48K and-a-bit. I'd have thought that at that price they'd sell.

I also notice that the NZ website has a "Professional and Adventure" section that the local lads didn't use. I think that says something ...


Almost all of the operators (tour, bungy jumping etc) in Queenstown run Defenders, and no, there is no dealer down there, just a few landrover specialists. :D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2007/09/137.jpg

[solmanic]

Almost all of the operators (tour, bungy jumping etc) in Queenstown run Defenders,

And from what I've seen there is also some moron in town running a Hummer.

[jimbo110]

And from what I've seen there is also some moron in town running a Hummer.
Wannabe Defender owner :p

[waynep]

Maybe now some of the dealers will re-think the price of the TD5 Defenders on their lots e.g $50K for a 2005 110.
Who'd pay that when in a few months you'll be able to get the new model one for almost the same price ?

[solmanic]

Yeah - the prices will probably crash to $49K!

[PAT303]

I thought Ford buying LR was a good thing at first.If you could buy them through Ford dealerships and get them serviced etc and ford could have pushed them into the rural market and got them out there.The reverse happened and LR if they stop making defenders,which could happen as they don't make enough to warrant designing a new one could cease being the leader in off road vehicles and instead make yuppy cars. Pat

[solmanic]

The reverse happened and LR if they stop making defenders,which could happen as they don't make enough to warrant designing a new one could cease being the leader in off road vehicles and instead make yuppy cars. Pat

C'mon, they do sell 20-odd thousand of them a year! I don't think any car manufacturer would walk away from that kind of market.

[PAT303]

Twenty thousand is nothing.VW make 450 Golfs a day.Do the math. Pat

[loanrangie]

Hmmm wonder what the deal with importing a new vehicle from NZ is for a 110 DC @ AU$55,693

Import ? NZ is just another Oz state isnt it :p

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Have they moved the handbrake?

[jimbo110]

Have they moved the handbrake?
No, She's still in the passengers seat :wasntme: ;)

[jimbo110]

Import ? NZ is just another Oz state isnt it :p
No it's the other way around, We refer to OZ as "the west island" :p

[solmanic]

Twenty thousand is nothing.VW make 450 Golfs a day.Do the math. Pat

20,000 Defenders = maybe GBP300M+ a year in sales. Those maths would work for me.

[jimbo110]

Twenty thousand is nothing.VW make 450 Golfs a day.Do the math. Pat
But Germans only work 2 days a week ;)

[PAT303]

The point I was making is the Defender is a labour intensive,that is there is alot of hand fitting,because of this they need to re-design it to make it more ''assembly line'' compatable.To do this they need to spend big dollars which they don't want to do as the other models earn more.The defender is in a catch 22.I'm not making this up,It was straight from LR.Hundreds of millions sounds like alot in sales but take out the cost of running the factory,wages,material etc and it doesn't go far. The defender is my favourate landy but wether it survives or not we will see. Pat

[solmanic]

But imagine the stink if they put those 700 people out of work.

[JDNSW]

I was told off the record by a salesman that LR don't want the work market they want the high end FL2,D3,RR market.That is why there is no dealers in the bush. Pat

I think that was obvious a long time ago!

John

[1103.9TDI]

Originally Posted by PAT303
I was told off the record by a salesman that LR don't want the work market they want the high end FL2,D3,RR market.That is why there is no dealers in the bush. Pat


I reckon all manufacturers want out of the bush, why would Toyota put a complex V8 TDI in their lastest Cruiser?-do you think it'd be easy to work on at some station miles from nowhere?, and of course without airbags, which have or are about to become mandatory for all vehicles involved in mining etc.......there's nothing in it for them, the vehicles are abused, wrecked, look like sh;)t, and have warranty claims galore, why would you want that kind of feedback?.

'High end' is much easier, don't have to put up with bulk buys eating your profits, dealing with individuals-so you can tell them to go jump-when they claim a warranty issue, the cars present well-nice and clean, dropping the kids off at school and not as many absolutely flogged vehicles returning back from a lease arrangement......they've checked it all out, and are going where the smart money is....don't you guys notice the lack of interest when you walk into a Landrover dealers spare parts counter............

[PAT303]

The lack of airbags is a another nail in it's coffin as they aren't going to the US because of it.That last post had alot of good points in it.We have a new cruiser at work and it is not bush friendly. Pat

[disco gazza]

I've just sent an email off to LR Australia,asking why the NZérs get the cold comfort selection and we dont....:mad:
Its not as if there isnt any COOLLLDDDD places here in oz(Blayney,Oberon-NSw--Tassie,High country in vic):)

[tombraider]

The point I was making is the Defender is a labour intensive,that is there is alot of hand fitting,because of this they need to re-design it to make it more ''assembly line'' compatable.To do this they need to spend big dollars which they don't want to do as the other models earn more.The defender is in a catch 22.I'm not making this up,It was straight from LR.Hundreds of millions sounds like alot in sales but take out the cost of running the factory,wages,material etc and it doesn't go far. The defender is my favourate landy but wether it survives or not we will see. Pat

Yes, I was told the exact same thing by a LR-UK insider...

Manual handling/assembly etc.. makes the defender the most expensive to build and least profitable....

It only cost LR-UK around 12k to build a top of the line HSE Rangie.... But more than that for a Defender...

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Yes, I was told the exact same thing by a LR-UK insider...

Manual handling/assembly etc.. makes the defender the most expensive to build and least profitable....

It only cost LR-UK around 12k to build a top of the line HSE Rangie.... But more than that for a Defender...

Think is though, while build/assembly cost is **very** important, design and tooling is also a major cost of car manufacture. LR haven't spent too much on either for a while now with the fender. I think this would go a long way to offsetting the greater assembly costs.