Thread: Won’t be retro...

Why its taking so long?

One expert:

"There’s been a sea change in the market away from diesel that’s happened very recently, and that could be one reason why the Defender is taking a while to appear.

No doubt the original plan would have been for the new vehicle to be largely diesel-powered and JLR might now be having to engineer other options – such as a greater choice of petrol engines and even a petrol-electric hybrid."

Looks like petrol defenders are very likely along with diesel.

What petrols do JLR currently offer?

The new Land Rover Defender: Why is it taking so long? - CoventryLive

Some stills from the vid (released late december)

Originally Posted by blackrangie

Why its taking so long?

One expert:

"There’s been a sea change in the market away from diesel that’s happened very recently, and that could be one reason why the Defender is taking a while to appear.

No doubt the original plan would have been for the new vehicle to be largely diesel-powered and JLR might now be having to engineer other options – such as a greater choice of petrol engines and even a petrol-electric hybrid."

Looks like petrol defenders are very likely along with diesel.

What petrols do JLR currently offer?

The new Land Rover Defender: Why is it taking so long? - CoventryLive

Personally i don't think that the decline of diesel has anything to do with the delay. Land Rover have been fully aware of the need to go electric for quite a while. Earliest of these two vids was posted 5 years ago and no doubt they were looking at EV well before then. Even if there was no EV in the plan, they still have a massive range of petrol ICE to choose from - nothing different from any of the other models they have.

To me, it's all about taking the Defender and its enormous iconic reputation to a new place while not completely screwing it up. There's an identity crisis at hand, the old Defender does not fit the direction the brand has been heading and yet they can not totally forsake it because it represents the very ethos of the company (tough, go anywhere). That is their struggle with it and why it is taking so long. The backlash against the DC100 concept woke them up to how serious the world is about the old Defender and by extension, the new. Think this says it:

Land Rover has had to juggle a complex set of requirements, often conflicting – the new Defender has to have the technology that allows it to pass safety and emissions tests to sell in today’s market but it also has to have unmatched versatility.

It needs ruggedness and exceptional off-road ability but it also needs to be a vehicle JLR can make a profit from. That’s a tough design brief.

Finally, I think the delay has been intentional, they need to provide some space between the old and the new because they are going to be very different. After all, they could have kept making the old Defender right up until the release of the new one if they wanted to.

Here's the vids:

Yes I agree Sean, though dieselgate would have fast tracked hybrid and EV development.

The main factor JLR are grappling with is their own 100% focus shift to the luxury vehicle market - whilst the icon was never about that. JLR have become myopic, when a new Defender as a basic work vehicle would be perfect in the lineup and stay true to the original Land Rover ethos. ...This next vehicle we’ve seen the camo shots of should have been the D5. Defender should be a bare bones work vehicle albeit with the new tech required for compliance and EV capability.

The market for retro fitting EV to Defenders could be huge once battery tech advances...next 5 years very interesting.

The longer LR leave it, the less "people that buy new Defenders" there are in the world,, ( this niche market have upgraded to a D5 or gone elsewhere by now...) therefore the less to be concerned about with a change in philosphy, they already know the old guard will hate it, but they are not the intended customers. People that buy new Land Rovers arent concerned about being able to fix it with fencing wire.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

The longer LR leave it, the less "people that buy new Defenders" there are in the world,, ( this niche market have upgraded to a D5 or gone elsewhere by now...) therefore the less to be concerned about with a change in philosphy, they already know the old guard will hate it, but they are not the intended customers. People that buy new Land Rovers arent concerned about being able to fix it with fencing wire.

Totally agree.......

How many lengths of fencing wire do you need to replace a blown 600 Amp fuse

Will I be able to get 12 bags of goat poo in the back of a new 110?

...People that buy new Land Rovers are only limited by what the design offers. If Land Rover built a contemporary classless new Defender as a robust base work vehicle for an affordable price it would sell like hot cakes. ...maybe they’re keeping the dual cab ute version up their sleeve?

Goat poo capacity is very important outside Saville Row, Bondi or Toorak, it’s entirely up to JLR to wake up and smell the organic fertiliser. The green work vehicle is a massive untapped market.

New Defender owners will want to fix their vehicles via their iPads, with online diagnosis, drone parts delivery and remote area field maintenance instructions. Or at the local EV charging restaurant equipped with a hoist and workshop, while they eat a paleo lunch prepared by a robot.