Next-gen Land Rover Discovery to get petrol, hybrid and EV powertrains

Next-gen SUV will be substantially differentiated from the Defender, with a focus on a different set of buyers.

Published On Aug 31, 2024 08:30:00 AM

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JLR is readying a complete overhaul of the Discovery SUV brand. The current generation of its flagship Land Rover Discovery has been around since 2017 and is the oldest model in the Land Rover line-up. The upcoming sixth-gen Discovery will have its own identity and focus on a unique set of buyers.

Next-gen Discovery could get MPV-like looks
The SUV will be based on the MLA platform
It’s likely to have a “performance” variant in future

Next-gen Discovery to move away from Defender

The full-size JLR Discovery SUV will focus on “family adventure” for the new-gen model and is expected to get pure ICE, hybird as well as electric powertrain options. The idea is to position the new Discovery uniquely and away from the popular Defender that has largely overshadowed the former's strengths.

The sales of the current-gen Discovery SUV have declined big time since the Defender’s debut. It has been one of the slowest-selling SUVs in the line-up, with only 16,750 units sold globally last year; this figure is half of Discovery Sport’s sales in the same period. In comparison, JLR sold 1,10,367 Defenders globally.

The new Discovery could get some MPV-like design elements, making it a potential future rival to the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. It will have a clean sheet design, and as reported earlier, it will be a standalone brand like Defender, Jaguar and Range Rover.

The next-gen Discovery will be based on the versatile MLA platform, which underpins the current flagship Range Rover and can accommodate petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric setups. JLR has confirmed plans for electric Land Rovers by 2026, and it is expected that the Discovery 6 will be one of them. The Discovery SUV will also have its own performance variant, just like the Defender Octa.

While a clear timeline for the new Defender’s debut is unknown, we expect the new line-up to be shown overseas after the all-new Range Rover EV is introduced sometime in 2025.

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