"The upcoming next gen Freelander has been in works since sometime now and guess what? The car was recently spotted undergoing road tests on public roads of India! The test mule was spotted by a TBHP member in Trivandrum and the car bore UK registration plates. Underpinning the new Freelander is a modified Evoque platform and the car will come with two seating layouts- 5 seat and 7 seats. The new car is expected to arrive in 2014 and will offer a set of engine options that will include various four cylinder engines, along with a supercharged petrol motor. The new Freelander is most likely to be sold as a ‘Discovery’ and safely expect the car to be here within a year of its public debut."

There is one thing about the Defender which none us have discussed. We know that passed 2017, legislation will prevent the current defender from being built in Europe.

This does not stop it being built in other area's such as Asia and Africa. Asia being a good option as it can and probably will be built in India. LR reckon they have maybe another 20 years life out of the current Defender in developing markets, so as long as legislation in these countries doesn't change, there is no reason why production can't be moved.

There was actual talk of moving the Defender production in 2014 to India, but this has been delayed.

Another positive of this, is that LR could still import back to the UK a percentage of Defenders that are built in India after the 2017 deadline for build in the UK.

So I am not convinced we have seen the last of the Defender. It is also still built with the 300TDi engine as part of the "World Spec" for the more remote parts of the world where older, easy to maintain technology is important.

pab wrote:

And the Discovery Sport already exists - it's just called the RRS!

limestone wrote:

http://www.brookwell.co.uk/tag/land-rover-defender

"The biggest news however is that the 3rd generation of Land Rovers Freelander (The Freelander 3) might be produced in conjunction with Chery for not only china’s market but internationally as well! The new Freelander is set to feature seats for 7 passengers and potentially use Chery’s 2.0 litre engine that they currently use in their Rich G5 and G6 models. Eitherway having Chery on board with increased production in China can only help bring down production costs of all JLR’s vehicles. Something that may not be good news when you consider the longevity of their UK Plants."

limestone wrote:

"The upcoming next gen Freelander has been in works since sometime now and guess what? The car was recently spotted undergoing road tests on public roads of India! The test mule was spotted by a TBHP member in Trivandrum and the car bore UK registration plates. Underpinning the new Freelander is a modified Evoque platform and the car will come with two seating layouts- 5 seat and 7 seats. The new car is expected to arrive in 2014 and will offer a set of engine options that will include various four cylinder engines, along with a supercharged petrol motor. The new Freelander is most likely to be sold as a ‘Discovery’ and safely expect the car to be here within a year of its public debut."

What Mav says makes sense, especially in respect of the Defender. Fortunately Autocar is not as sensationalist as Autodistress however they still have to make headlines and sell magazines. You need to read between the lines and look at the drip of stories/interviews over a period of time before jumping to conclusions. It also surprises me how little many contributors to this forum know about the company behind the product they enthuse about and write utter drivel at times to which Mav provides some insight and balance, keep it up fella! eh tu?

+1  Joanne

Freelander 1.8 Petrol XEi Jan 1998 - 2004
Freelander 2 (MY13) SD4 Auto XS (Mauritius Blue) - May 2013 onwards

+2! It would make sense to crate them and ship them out to Pune (like they already do the Freelander) and have them assembled out there, thus avoiding irresponsible and ineffective EU legislation. Let's hope that JLR already have a Plan B! Foraging near Gaydon....
——————————————
MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Cheers Guys. There is a lot of comments on here about JLR "losing there way" etc, but a company like this doesn't survive for over 60 years without a business plan.

JLR insiders will know exactly what is going on with every model for the next decade or so.

I was talking to a guy at Gaydon a few weeks back, and I said what a fab job they have done with the new Range Rover, and he smiled and said, "for us internally, that's old news now, and that it has made production and it's over to the dealers to sell it, while the factory builds it. We are now looking at the next one" !

That's the thing with car manufacturers, we see a new model and ,any don't realise that each model at the point of launch is actually in some case several years old from the start of the project.

So JLR will have details of everything in 100% detail. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

It's true what Mav says. Anything made on the line is old hat to those involved in design.
But out of respect to the individual who told him this, if I was a supplier don't think i'd come on this forum or anywhere else and say as much. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

There we go ,new competition for LR to run name the new replacement name for the Freelander..My entry below..

LR Mumbai or even LR Tut Tut Iain

JLR have known for years the death of the Defender was coming, LR will have some form of strategy.

Replacing an icon like the Defender won't be rushed and shouldn't be rushed, a 2 year absence won't do it much harm. It will be the most eagerly awaited vehicle for a long time. The demand for the last Defenders will be through the roof.

LR aren't a stupid company, they know what they are doing, they know what the market trends are. It's just timing it right and with right vehicle. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Personally, I think LR will stockpile Defenders in readiness for the end of production.

Vauxhall have done this with the Astravan. Production finished nearly 6-8 months ago, but they have over 1600 vans in warehouse storage and are releasing them in batches as they are not building a van based on the new Astra.

A shame and I think they will regret it. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Quote:

... a company like this doesn't survive for over 60 years without a business plan.

limestone wrote:

"The upcoming next gen Freelander has been in works since sometime now and guess what? The car was recently spotted undergoing road tests on public roads of India! The test mule was spotted by a TBHP member in Trivandrum and the car bore UK registration plates. Underpinning the new Freelander is a modified Evoque platform and the car will come with two seating layouts- 5 seat and 7 seats. The new car is expected to arrive in 2014 and will offer a set of engine options that will include various four cylinder engines, along with a supercharged petrol motor. The new Freelander is most likely to be sold as a ‘Discovery’ and safely expect the car to be here within a year of its public debut."

limestone wrote:

What I wanted to show here is that the next Freelander 3 or mini Disco would be just a larger Evoque.

limestone wrote:

limestone wrote:

"The upcoming next gen Freelander has been in works since sometime now and guess what? The car was recently spotted undergoing road tests on public roads of India! The test mule was spotted by a TBHP member in Trivandrum and the car bore UK registration plates. Underpinning the new Freelander is a modified Evoque platform and the car will come with two seating layouts- 5 seat and 7 seats. The new car is expected to arrive in 2014 and will offer a set of engine options that will include various four cylinder engines, along with a supercharged petrol motor. The new Freelander is most likely to be sold as a ‘Discovery’ and safely expect the car to be here within a year of its public debut."

Old news.

Where the devil did you find this information?
It's like reading the Daily Mail; they get it all wrong too. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.