The NGT diesel ban in Delhi in January 2016 has been hindering the growth of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in India. In an attempt to combat this, the company has come up with a 2-litre petrol derivative of Jaguar Land Rover Discovery Sport. It is priced at Rs. 56.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Tata-owned British automaker has vowed to adapt to the changing market conditions.
Speaking at the launch, Rohit Suri, president of JLR India, revealed that the Discovery Sport petrol variant was not originally planned for India this early, but the turn of events has changed things. The petrol variant was meant to be launched at a later stage but the diesel ban made the automaker expedite it.
Suri said that the company had started planning for petrol variants as the Indian market was beginning to drift away from diesel as the price difference between the two fuels began to narrow.
Upon being asked if JLR planned to accelerate the launch of petrol variants of its different models, including Range Rover Evoque, he answered –
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.
About the company’s plans to expand the portfolio of locally assembled models, he said that the company produces five models locally, and there’s been no development on that front.
All of JLR India’s diesel models have been affected by the ban, which has been extended to several other cities in India. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder Si4 petrol engine delivers an impressive 240 PS and 340 Nm of torque. The motor is combined with a 9-speed automatic transmission.
JLR India is supposed to add three more showrooms this fiscal to take its total to 26.
