Defender prices to drop by 50%? How India-UK FTA will affect prices

The recently concluded India-UK Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) will have a major impact on the economies of both nations, but prices for the Range Rover and Defender models won’t see a major drop as the Internet will have you believe. The India-UK FTA is expected to bring the taxation down from over 100 per cent to just 10 per cent. However, JLR’s global best seller are already in made in India and that means, there is likely going to be little change in prices. Here’s how.

JLR commenced local assembly of the Range Rover LWB and Range Rover Sport last year, while it has been assembling the Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque and Velar in India for a while now. With the models already being assembled here, it will see no change in prices for the range.

On the other, the Defender, JLR’s top-selling model in India will not see a change in pricing, despite bring a full import. The Defender is made at the brand’s Nitra manufacturing plant in Slovakia, and not in the UK. Under the India-UK FTA, products covered under exemption are those built in either countries. Given the Defender’s Slovakian origins, the model will see no impact on the pricing.

That being said, rumours are rife that the Defender is next to begin local assembly in the country. JLR’s Chief Financial Officer, Richard Molyneux, confirmed recently during an earnings call that local assembly for the Defender in India is in the works. However, the company is yet to officially announce plans or timelines for the same. We have reached out to JLR for a statement on the same, and will update this piece as and when the company responds.

That being said, the Defender’s local assembly won’t bring down prices by 50 per cent either. It will, however, get more affordable by about 20 per cent, similar to how Range Rover prices dropped last year. (Please interlink RR price drop story here)

The Defender is currently priced between ₹1.05 crore and ₹2.79 crore (ex-showroom) and is available in three body styles - 90 (3-door), 110 (5-door), and 130 (5-door extra long). Should the local assembly begin, expect starting prices to hover around the ₹85 lakh mark. But a timeline for the local assembly is yet to be ascertained.

For JLR and buyers, the local assembly strategy works out better. The model is more readily available since the dependence on global allocations is lesser. Moreover, the fluctuating foreign exchange has a lesser impact on overall prices. The move also opens room for more opportunities to vendors, suppliers, and labour in the country, making it a more fruitful strategy in the long term.

JLR is already reaping benefits of this strategy with the larger Range Rovers. The company registered a 40 per cent year-on-year hike in sales in FY2025, retailing 6,183 units, its highest-ever in India. Defender sales witnessed a spike by 90 per cent, while the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport grew by 72 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively. The record sales helped JLR move up to the third spot in the Indian luxury sales market, behind Mercedes-Benz and BMW, pushing Audi to fourth.

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