INDUSTRY NEWS
The chemistry behind the Land Rover Defender
Land Rover will replace the Defender, but it’s taking too long for some
Land Rover is taking so long to replace its iconic Defender that someone else is planning to do it first. Privately owned Swiss chemical giant Ineos insists that the disappearance of the British off-roader in 2016 has left a gap in the market it intends to plug.Land Rover has promised to replace the Defender and has been showing concept cars at motor shows around the world for at least five years but it hasn’t given a firm production date for the new version.Ineos has never built a concept car before, much less a production car, but it is a world leader in controversial fracking techniques and it does have oil and biodiesel refineries to provide the oil that would inevitably leak out of every orifice of a new "Defender".That’s a far cry from the history of Land Rover, which began building the Defender’s forerunner in 1948 and its direct children, the 90 and 110, in 1983.But Ineos told The Guardian newspaper that it was ready to invest "many hundreds of millions" of pounds to deve...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.