Land Rover boosts Defender production amid strong demand

Tata Motors-owned luxury British car brand Land Rover has ramped up the production for its bestselling model Defender SUV amid the strong demand. Automotive News reports that the automaker is currently sitting on an approximately 214,000-strong order book, among which a quarter is for the SUV. Available in 90, 110, and 130 body styles, the Defender has been the auto manufacturer's bestselling model in the last seven quarters, claims the report. To meet the rising demand for it, Land Rover has decided to start a third shift of production for this model at its Nitra plant.

The report further claims that the Defender has witnessed a tough time owing to the supply chain bottleneck. However, with the gradual improvement in the global supply chain, production of the Land Rover Defender has improved as well. Meanwhile, the automaker is mulling the plan to bring an all-electric version of this luxury go-anywhere SUV, which competes with rivals like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

As part of Jaguar Land Rover's ‘Reimagine’ strategy, an all-electric Defender is currently in the works, and it is expected to hit the market sometime later this decade. This would play a key role in the automaker's intent to become an electric vehicle-only brand next decade.

While its sibling brand Jaguar aims to become an EV-only brand in 2025, Land Rover, too, is not leaving any stones unturned. It has planned to launch at least six electric SUVs in the current decade, with the first one scheduled to launch in 2024. In the meantime, the report also claimed that the Discovery and Range Rover models are set to receive new versions, which will do away with the current lineup of internal combustion engines and adopt zero-emission powertrains keeping in line with the automaker's future plan.