A recent interview with Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata indicates that the new Land Rover Defender will be built in Land Rover’s new factory in Pune, India.
A recent interview with Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata indicates that the new Land Rover Defender will be built in Land Rover’s new factory in Pune, India.
Production of the next Defender is slated to begin in 2015. Tata notes that manufacturing the Defender in India will reduce production costs, which in turn should lower the sticker price of the vehicle and make it affordable for a broader consumer base. Geographically, the Pune factory will make it easier for Land Rover to distribute newly manufactured vehicles throughout the coveted Asia-Pacific market.
In addition to Defender production, the factory in Pune, India is also set to produce the Tata Aria, a minivan-SUV crossover (below) that closely matches the platform dimensions of the new Defender. The similarities between the vehicles will help Tata’s economies of scale as they continue to try and drive down the production cost of the Defender.
Rover enthusiasts will probably view this as the final nail in the coffin of what was once the Defender.
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