Land Rover to offer 16 models by 2020

 by: George Kennedy

The Range Rover Evoque was a bold new direction for Land Rover that proved successful, but if reports are to be believed, it is only the beginning of an onslaught of new products. According to a report from Autocar, the brand associated with both opulent motoring and rugged off-road capability is embarking on a massive lineup expansion, with the goal of producing 600,000 vehicles annually and 22 million vehicles by 2020.

In order to accomplish this, a flurry of new modes are planned, including the expansion of the Freelander (LR2) lineup and the unveiling of a new Defender family. The former will include five-seat and seven seat models, while the Defender will also roll out five-seat and seven-seat editions, but also a crew-cab pickup model. Consider our interest piqued.

The Evoque family will also grow, including an Evoque XL, Evoque convertible, and a "baby Range Rover" that would slot underneath the Range Rover Sport. This amonts to a goal of expanding the Land Rover lineup to 16 new vehicles.

Jaguar/Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth has claimed "40 new JLR product launches in the next five years," according to the report. To accomplish this, JLR is throwing 2 billion pounds a year behind this expansion. Roughly 1.8 billion pounds will go to a new Chinese production facility capable of producing 130,000 vehicles per year. The strategic location of the plant can feed the Chinese and Russian markets, which have voiced a demand for more specialized, limited edition models.

This all may seem ambitious, and perhaps even present an overlapping of models. However, if the automotive marketplace has taught us anything in the last decade, it is that there really is no such thing as too many CUVs.