International - It’s clear to see that the latest Land Rover Discovery has been lurking in the shadow of its successful Defender sibling.
Its apparent identity crisis also shows through in the sales numbers, with the midsize model currently being the least popular Land Rover model globally.
But with all of Land Rover’s current products set to become separate brands in future, where would this leave the Discovery nameplate?
According to Autocar, JLR is confident that it can turn Discovery into a successful brand, within its stable of SUVs, and alongside the Defender and Range Rover brands.
In an interview with the aforementioned British publication JLR marketing head Anthony Bradbury described Discovery as the company’s “we brand” and “an enabler to make every day exceptional.”
However, the marketing boss did admit that doing so could prove challenging.
"Of the four brands, it's the one that, in terms of its future state, there's the most work to do (on) internally," Bradbury told Autocar.
"But that's massively exciting, because, certainly in our view, it's got enormous potential to grow."
Consensus on the street is that while the future of the smaller Discovery Sport model remains uncertain, JLR is indeed working on a replacement for the larger Discovery model.
Before stepping down last year, former JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré told Auto Express that the company was completely reinventing Discovery.
“We believe there is a space for it, but we have to be creative,” Bolloré told the UK publication.
“Defender is such a success that it has eaten a part of what was the territory of Discovery. Defender is a brand. We believe that Discovery could be a brand as well. We are looking at how we present our future line-up – it’s something we have in mind.”
He added that the company needed to make a real family car for the most discerning families.
“Discovery has to, and should, play this role that could disappear from the market otherwise - in the luxury segments at least. The Discovery will be that car.”
Auto Express said the next Discovery would likely move above the Defender in terms of pricing, and would feature a “less utilitarian” and “more upmarket” design.
Back in April, JLR announced that its Range Rover, Defender and Discovery nameplates would become brands in their own right. The carmaker’s chief creative officer Geery McGovern said the brand would become something of a “trust mark” for the aforementioned brands.
This comes as the company embarks on its “Imagine” strategy that will see it repositioned as an electric-first luxury carmaker.
To that end the upcoming EMA platform for midsize SUVs would be an EV-only architecture.
Meanwhile, the flexible modular longitudinal architecture that currently underpins the Range Rover will be retained, allowing the company to offer a mix of internal combustion and electrified offerings.
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