JAGUAR Land Rover look set to reinvent their current longest-running model and they could take inspiration from Volkswagen.
JLR want to reposition the Discovery brand into its own “unique territory” by moving it away it from the Defender model which has been “cannibalising” its sales.
The current fifth iteration of the Discovery was released back in 2017, which makes it JLR’s oldest model in the Land Rover range.
And according to Autocar, it’s also the slowest-selling with 16,750 global sales in 2023.
Despite its ailing sales, the iconic brand is all set to run for a sixth generation but could be more focussed around “family adventures” as it currently struggles to rise above the Defender.
That’s according to Discovery and Defender boss Mark Cameron, who told Autocar: “If you look from a product perspective, Defender came in and sat quite squarely on top of Discovery and cannibalised a lot of that business.”
It’s believed JLR will attempt to reinvent the Discovery, possibly by switching to MPV-style elements, with the hugely popular Volkswagen ID Buzz touted as a potential reference.
Cameron added: “Recreating what Discovery stands for, we absolutely have to make sure it sits in a really unique territory.”
What’ more, JLR has confirmed plans for Land Rovers to be electric by 2026, with the the Discovery 6 sure to be one of them.
This comes as another iconic Land Rover nameplate – the Freelander – is braced for a surprise comeback eight years after it was discontinued.
The new project will be a joint enterprise with one of the world’s largest manufacturers – and will only be available in Asia.
Elsewhere, Jaguar are set to scrap five models from its range as the British firm pushes further into luxury all-electric territory.
The XE, XF, F-Type, E-Pace and I-Pace have all reached the end of the road as the manufacturer completes its transformation to all-electric – with only the F-Pace to remain in production and three new EVs to be unveiled next year.
