Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover launches Discovery Sport in Petrol Variant
India:
Premium car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled its foremost petrol
variant model for Discovery Sport specifically for Indian market. The new
version of JLR Discovery Sport 2L is priced at USD83,500 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Considering the changing business environment
for cars in India, along with the ban on selected diesel (2,000cc and above)
vehicles in Delhi-NCR by the apex court of India, Supreme Court. Followed by
the ban on diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR, diesel cars with more than 2,000cc engine
capacity which was earlier banned in Kerala by National Green Tribunal (NGT)
has consequently forced the luxury car maker to foray its models’ in petrol
variant.
“"The Discovery Sport petrol variant was
not planned as early as this to be introduced in India. It was planned for
later. So definitely, it does affect our plans. If we are to remain
relevant in any market, we have to adapt to the legislative requirements of the
country. We are adapting our portfolio, not just because of the ban (on big
diesel cars and SUVs) but also due to the increasing preference for petrol
vehicles. We will do our best to address the demand" quoted Rohit Suri,
JLR India President.
Currently the SUV range for Land Rover
includes the flagship Range Rover priced at USD313,600, Range Rover Sport at USD174,600,
Discovery Sport at USD70,500 and the new Range Rover Evoque at USD72,000 (all
ex-showroom Delhi). The company currently has petrol variants for Jaguar XJ,
Jaguar XE and now the new model for Discovery Sport has strengthened the
company’s product portfolio in the Indian market.
According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “India Automotive Spark Plug Market
Forecast & Opportunities, 2019”, the spark plug market in India is
estimated at around USD119 million in 2014. Key factors driving the market
include growing automobile sales, rising automobile fleet size and favourable
government policies for automotive sector. At present, almost all the
major global automobile manufacturers have their operations in India. India
offers great potential for robust continuing growth in automotive and allied
sectors as the country still has significantly lower motorization rate compared
to developed economies, which consequently means a huge opportunity for spark
plugs suppliers.
TechSci
Research believes that, JLR is among the leading premium carmakers, globally
and foraying into the petrol segment of the country, would eventually impact
the vehicle sales for the company, followed by the enhancement of the JLR’s market
share in the automobile industry of India. The planned move is also expected to
support the automotive spark plug suppliers in the country to have tie ups with
the luxury car maker and facilitate increased share for spark plugs in the OEM
segment of India.india