The company considering building a replica of the discontinued Land Rover Defender says the product would have to be tough enough to do duty in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ineos, a multinational chemical company run by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, recently clarified that it has plans to produce – without the official backing of Jaguar Land Rover – a replica that “captures the essence of the Defender”.
The company hinted that the new vehicle’s underpinnings and powertrain would likely be sourced from another manufacturer.
“Fundamentally, we’re not in the industry so we’d want to partner with an experienced brand,” Ineos director Tom Crotty told Autocar.
“We think there is an ongoing market for the vehicle if you can make it reliable and conform to [safety and emissions] regulations. We’ve done a lot of stuff in Africa and they love [the Land Rover Defender] out there. But they don’t love its reliability,” he explained.
Crotty went on to confirm that the revived Defender would not feature an electric or hybrid powertrain.
“Electric is too advanced. This car needs to work to work in Sub-Saharan desert,” he said, adding that the Toyota Land Cruiser would “be a benchmark for reliability”.
And pricing? Well, Crotty revealed that it would likely be in line with the recently discontinued Defender.
“You want to be in the bracket that the Defender finished at otherwise you’re going to be way out of the market. Africa is a very important market, so is the agricultural market, and the US, too. All of these things set your price point,” he said.
