Land Rover is poised to radically reinvent the Discovery as part of its rapid and wide-reaching electrification programme with a view to distance it from the hugely popular Defender and re-establish the nameplate as a core pillar of the line-up.
The Land Rover Discovery has historically been a highly important car for the firm. It was launched in 1989 as a more family-focused and affordable adaptation of the acclaimed underpinnings from the Range Rover flagship and it ultimately became one of the firm’s most popular models worldwide, with the millionth example leaving the production line in 2012.
In recent years, though, the Discovery’s popularity has waned and today’s fifth-generation model has consistently ranked as the smallest-selling car in Land Rover’s line-up. In the 12 months to March, just 16,791 examples were sold, compared with 61,717 of the similarly priced and sized Land Rover Defender.
The arrival of the new, eight-seat Defender 130 further threatens the seven-seat Discovery’s business case, albeit while commanding a sizeable premium over even the most expensive version of the Discovery.
Hinting at the priorities for the Discovery’s replacement, ex-Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré – who stepped down just last week (see overleaf) – recently suggested to Autocar that the model’s historical connotations of practicality and rugged dependability would be brought to the fore in a bid to carve out a more clearly defined niche.
“It has always been a very family-oriented model and we want to enhance that,” he said. “It needs to have many of the best characteristics of our luxury models, but with the emphasis on practicality and accessibility.”
There is no suggestion that Bolloré’s departure will dramatically change the product roadmap and his remarks point to the next version, the ‘Discovery 6’, forming a core part of a planned new model onslaught over the coming years, which will dramatically overhaul the 4×4 brand’s range with a focus on electrification and cement Land Rover as a ‘modern luxury’ brand.