The British division of Tata Motor, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), will manufacture Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SUVs outside of the United Kingdom for the first time in fifty-four years. Only these two Range Rover models were made in Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull, UK, plant. They were sold to about 121 markets worldwide, including India.
The two brands will be produced domestically at JLR’s Pune factory alongside the Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar F-PACE, and Discovery Sport currently in production.At the moment, JLR’s installed production capacity at the plant is approximately 10,000 units annually. It is expected that deliveries will start in August of this year.
Nonetheless, JLR will continue to import all of its Defender SUVs, which are among its best-selling models both internationally and in India. Additionally, the UK’s Solihull facility will produce the forthcoming Range Rover electric and “SV” models.
JLR claims that the change will assist Indian customers by reducing wait times for Range Rover automobiles. Because of the lower taxes, the two SUVs’ costs will also drop by 18–22%, or up to Rs 56 lakh. The price of the Range Rover Autobiography has decreased from Rs 3.16 crore to Rs 2.6 crore. The price of the Range Rover Sport will drop from Rs 1.9 crore to Rs 1.4 crore. As stated by Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, “Manufacturing Range Rovers in India should send a signal about how serious we are about Indian market”. He conveyed his appreciation for Ratan Tata’s foresight in introducing JLR to India fifteen years ago.
Currently, German automakers like Mercedes, BMW, and Audi dominate the Indian luxury automobile industry. Industry estimates place the number of luxury automobile sales in FY24 at little over 45,000, with market leader Mercedes selling more than 18,000 cars. In the most recent fiscal year, JLR India sold 4,436 units, the most in the previous five years.
Nonetheless, JLR will continue to import all of its Defender SUVs, which are among its best-selling models both internationally and in India. Additionally, the UK’s Solihull factory will produce the forthcoming Range Rover electric and “SV” vehicles.
