The Tata Motors acquired British auto company, Jaguar Land Rover recently made waves in the global auto market with the launch of its product, the Land Rover Evoque. The car garnered so much attention that its bookings were stopped few days after its launch and it also went on to win the SUV of the year award from TopGear! Now, the company seeing the success wave is planning to introduce a bigger version of the Evoque to fill in the gap between the current Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. The growing sales of its competitor models, the BMW X and the Audi Q models are also encouraging the company to widen its product portfolio. The new bigger Evoque will mostly be named the XL edition and will be based on the same LR-MS architecture which is implemented in the current model. This was developed from the Ford EU-CD platform providing foundation to the LR2. According to the company, the packaging efficiency of this platform will help in developing a scaled up version of the car providing more space especially for the rear passengers.
Coming to the design language, the company will be keen on giving the extended Evoque a new and distinctive look compared the current one. The look will be based on something to decpict the grand Evoque image. The platform is likely to be extended by about 12 inches increasing the cabin space with half the extra length between the axles and the rest allocated to the rear and the front overhang with an increased boot volume. The company can also provide a third row of seats as an option. Regarding the engines, the extended Evoque is likely to be powered by a 1.8 litre direct injection, turbo charged motor producing about 170 BHP of power. The top end variant could also feature hybrid technology. The company is expected to make use of lightweight materials in the construction of different components for the extended Evoque to save weight and increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. The XL Evoque will be assembled at the UK factory alongside the current Evoque, the LR2 and the small upcoming Jaguar sedan, all of which are based on the same platform. The new strategy will help the companies to increase its economies of scale and thereby, increase its profit margins.
Source – Inside Line
