NEWS
Discovery Sport production commences
Land Rover's stylish successor to the Freelander is now being built at the Halewood plant in the UKThe Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in England's north has begun manufacture of the Discovery Sport, Land Rover's replacement for the long-lived Freelander 2.
As reported previously, the Discovery Sport is scheduled to arrive here from May next year, likely priced around the mid-$50k mark. It will go on sale alongside the popular Range Rover Evoque, which shares the Disco Sport's platform and is built in the same factory.
In Australia, on the basis of year to date sales figures, the Evoque – with 1988 sales for the year as at the end of September – is narrowly outsold by Discovery 4 and the Range Rover Sport. It will turn over 2000 units by the end of this month and has already more than doubled sales of the cheaper Freelander 2 (857 sales for 2014 so far). Land Rover is believed to be anticipating the Discovery Sport can overtake BMW X3 (2230 sales YTD) and Audi Q5 (2460 YTD) when it arrives here next year.
According to Land Rover, production of the new model will boost revenue for suppliers in the UK by £3.5 billion (AUD $6.4 billion) and supports 250 new jobs in the factory for an investment of £200 at Halewood (AUD $368 million). The seven-seat SUV is, Land Rover says, another "significant milestone" in the company's new product campaign, which will comprise 50 changes or new models within the Jaguar Land Rover range over a five-year period.
"A strong, competitive supply chain, meeting our rigorous cost and delivery metrics, is fundamental to the sustainable growth of our business," said Ian Harnett, JLR Purchasing Director. "With many more new products in the pipeline, gearing up to supply Jaguar Land Rover is a solid business proposition."
The first Discovery Sport to roll off the end of the line has been delivered to Virgin Galactic in support of the partnership that exists between Land Rover and Virgin, in the latter's capacity as a 'spaceline'. Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director For Virgin Galactic accepted the keys of the Discovery Sport HSE Luxury model, finished in Kaikoura Stone.
"Today marks another incredibly proud moment for the Halewood plant, its workforce and the region as a whole," said Richard Else, Operations Director for the plant.
"The decision to build the Land Rover Discovery Sport here at Halewood is a testament to our tremendous team who are committed to delivering outstanding customer quality as demonstrated by the award winning Range Rover Evoque. Investment in the plant since 2011 now stands at £500 million and has most recently been demonstrated with the installation of a £45 million state-of-the-art Aida servo press line which provided the backdrop to today's event."
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