Land Rover Defender to become cheaper — Local assembly plans initiated

Land Rover recently began locally assembling the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover, which led to a price cut of up to Rs 56 lakh compared to the fully imported iterations. Similarly, the Defender is now set to be locally assembled in India and we can expect an attractive price cut on one of India’s current favourite luxury SUVs.

Land Rover Defender price cut soon

In an interaction, Land Rover’s top executive recently revealed the company's plans to locally assemble the Defender, after the successful CKD operations of the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover. Reports suggest that the made-in-India Land Rover Defender price could be announced at Rs 20 lakh lower than its fully-imported counterparts. The reduction of Rs 20 lakh should boost the adoption of the Defender SUV among larger customer bases.

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SUVs like the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and the Defender found huge acceptance in the Indian market, even more so after the made-in-India iterations of the former two models, thanks to the attractive pricing. Reports reveal that Jaguar Land Rover volumes jumped 40% to reach 6,183 cars in the last financial year, with the January-March quarter recording a 110% growth to 1,793. The Defender’s sales surged 90% during the year, while locally assembled Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models registered 72% and 42% growth, respectively.

India-UK FTA to boost sales further

As part of the agreement, India will reduce tariffs levied on the import of CBU cars from the UK from over 100% to just 10%, paving the way for reduced high-end car prices in India. Cars and SUVs from brands like Range Rover, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martin will significantly benefit from this. Major carmakers like BMW and Skoda also import certain models from the UK. Moreover, exporting vehicles to the UK has also been made easier for companies like Mahindra, which plans to sell its electric SUVs there, and TVS, which is planning something around its Norton brand. Auto component companies are also to benefit from this deal.

Also Read: India UK FTA automobile industry impact — Tariffs to come down from over 100% to 10%!

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