Thread: Defenders to be Built in New Delhi

I looked as comparison at the new Defender imported into Indonesia by Java Motors. The interior comes fully covered with insulated carpeting that the LR brochure shows. This carpet is superior to the phony leather material that is used in the Australian imported version. In addition, the Australian version has no cover whatever on the rear cargo floor area. It seems like penny wise pond foolish to me.

GT

I don't think anything will change to much other than LR and Jag being owned by yet another company. I don't think anything production wise will move at all. We can just hope that Tata keep pouring the money in so we can enjoy our LR's for years to come yet!

Chris V

Originally Posted by Ian

Imagine the quality!

Yes, there might be some.

Seriously though, countries like India are quite capable of producing quality goods (As is China) if paid to do so, as opposed to being told to produce it as cheaply as possible!

On the bright side.... Do India have the same strict crash rating rules that is going to see the demise of the defender in 2011, (or when ever it is)???? Perhaps this could be a good thing to the defender range, they might still be able to produce them after 2011. Even if it is in india, (Bollyrover )
Maybe the defender will be more of a back to basics vehicle again. If you want leather and auto dimming rear view mirrors buy a Range Rover/Freelander/Disco. (If you want all that and that deep feeling of paying too much for a vehicle go buy a 200 series Toy )

Tim

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

I think the next couple of years will be an interesting time Land Rover wise.

Tata will want to capitalise on their investment and also to recoup some of the costs involved in the purchase. They already have production of the worlds cheapest car under way, whether they extend that to a cheap Land Rover is another question

What ever their future strategy will be will be at least a year before it is obvious to us. In the short term any new plant in India will only be an assembly plant for products made in the Solihull factory.

However, all that said, adding greater assembly capacity would maximise the return on the Defender by quantity without the expense of new development. The Indian Army contract would justify building the factory (or may be a part of the requirement contained in the contract by the Indian Government) but whether production extends to civilian vehicles or not will be what we need to watch.

Personally I wouldn't be buying one in the first 12 months of production in a new plant, but after that I would be willing to seriously consider it.

C Ya
Diana

Wasn't there some involvement of the British Government in the Ford / Tata deal though? They were obviously interested in UK job retention and I'm sure I read somewhere that there are clauses in the deal to this effect. Shipping production (or as Diana wisely speculates, assembly) to India may violate this agreement. Did anybody else read this or was I dreaming!

Originally Posted by rovercare

Only vehicle that everything under the bonnet actually has a place and a clip, the comparison to a land rover is dismal

That might be true of the "older" LR products, but it certainly isn't the case with the newer cars such as the Discovery 3 or RRS, that were designed and built under Ford leadership and more importantly to Ford's quality control process.

I presume the facelifted Defender must have also improved? But I think the gaps around doors / leaks is attributable to being based on a 50 odd year old design!! Before you hang me out here, I have an Isuzu 110 with gaps, leaks, noises, etc, and I love it to bits and would never sell it.

Originally Posted by Ian

You've never looked at a Hyudai/Ssangoon et al after 2 years?

Ever looked at a Defender after 2 weeks?

Sorry Guys,
But I think this discussion with Tombie is OT.

If you need to pursue it (although, personally, I don't see the point) I suggest you conduct it by PM.

For myself, I'm glad Tombie is here.

Best Wishes,

Originally Posted by D3Jon

................
I presume the facelifted Defender must have also improved? But I think the gaps around doors / leaks is attributable to being based on a 50 odd year old design!! Before you hang me out here, I have an Isuzu 110 with gaps, leaks, noises, etc, and I love it to bits and would never sell it.

1. I am always amused by those who equate quality to panel fit and paint finish. It seems to me that these are almost totally irrelevant in an utility vehicle like the Defender. I see the REAL quality defects showing up as things like headlight switches that fail in normal service, oil leaking along wiring harnesses that causes breakdowns, front prop shafts hitting sumps, cracking chassis (130), leaking oil seals, drive flanges that chop out because the design does not allow for lubrication, this sort of thing.

2. The body assembly problems with Defenders, including water and dust leaks are a part of the structural design. This bolt together design philosophy originates from the decision to make the original Landrover with a minimum of tooling, and maximum versatility of body type. As long as this is retained, it is difficult to see how this sort of problem can be completely prevented.

To give one example - the sealing surface at the door corners is a sharp angle. This is almost impossible to reliably seal - look at any other vehicle produced today, and you will find it is radiused. But with the door pillars, sills, lintels all being separate pieces of metal, often in two or more pieces (necessary for the alternate body types), you are stuck with these sharp corners. Of course you could round them, but this requires a lot more tooling and simply changes the sealing problem from the door opening to between the bits. Not to say that improvements could not be made, but the cost of them may well be greater than is justified. And if the versatility of body type and meccano-like construction is scrapped (as is highly likely in a Defender replacement), then the vehicle is no longer a Landrover, even if it does have a Landrover label.

John