After almost 68 years of success around the world, the production of Land Rover Defender was stopped some 2 years ago due to European Union standards on vehicle emissions which will be applied from the year 2020, as JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) were unable to or unwilling to upgrade the vehicle according to those standards.
We wonder why Mercedes-Benz still continues to produce their G-Wagon with revised engines and mechanicals to comply with European Union standards where as JLR decided to scarp the iconic design with modern mechanicals.
Meanwhile, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe plans to start manufacturing a rugged off-road car in the style of Land Rover’s discontinued Defender in a massive investment that breaks new ground for his Ineos group. Mr Ratcliffe made his fortune with the Ineos chemicals company but is known for his interest in the car sector and is a fan of the Defender. He however needs to invest about £600m for a new 4×4 off-road vehicle to replace the Defender. Seems like a lot of money when all that is needed is a new drivetrain and some interior modernization. Maybe its time for Geely to buy over the Defender and restart production using a Volvo supplied T8 plugin hybrid drive system. What do you think.
