JLR launches new Evoque; hopes to grow above ind avg this year

Mumbai :Jaguar Land Rover India today launched a variant of its locally-assembled luxury SUV ‘Range Rover Evoque’, priced between Rs 47.1 Lakh and Rs 63.2 lakh, and said it expects to grow above the industry average this year.

The new Evoque features a comprehensive range of new design elements and technologies to reinforce style, glamour, luxury and status appeal.

The Evoque range has been setting benchmarks in the industry since its launch and with the introduction of the 2016 model, we are confident of its continued success, JLR India president Rohit Suri said.

“We already have received 125 pre-launch bookings for the new Evoque. I hope this optimism on the JLR brands continue going ahead, Suri told PTI on the sidelines of the launch.

“I hope to end the year’s sales above the industry average. While the luxury car market is likely to close the year at 7-8 per cent growth, I am sure we will be doing higher than that. We should be closing the year with over 3,000 units with a market share of 9-10 per cent. Last year we sold more than 2,700 units,” he added.

It can be noted that the around 33,000 units per annum luxury car market is dominated by the three German brands— Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW—who among them command 90 per cent market share.
When asked whether there has been any positive rub-off on JLR following the troubles at Audi, Suri answered in the negative. Similarly, he said there is no negative feedback on diesel engines since Audi’s emission cheating controversy.

The Tata Motors’-owned British luxury brand JLR gets most of its sales from its locally-assembled models like Discovery Sport, and Evoque from the Land Rover/Land Rover stable and the XJ and XF from the Jaguar platform, Suri said.

The company also sells the higher end imported models from the LR/RR platforms like the Range Rover that has a price tag of Rs 2.07 crore and above, the Range Rover Sport at Rs 1.16 crore and onwards and the Discovery 4 at over Rs 1.11 crore. The new Evoque comes with a 2.2-L, four-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine that delivers 140 kW at 3,500 rpm.

It comes in four variants. While the Evoque Pure is priced at Rs 47.1 lakh, the SE is priced at Rs 52.9 lakh, the HSE model at Rs 57.7 lakh and the HSE Dynamic at Rs 63.2 lakh, in Mumbai, excluding taxes.

PTI