- Land Rover will cease production of its compact SUV; rumored Defender Sport could come next.
- Land Rover is paring its lineup before a product onslaught for North America.
- Jaguar is making no new cars right now.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport will be discontinued after the 2026 model year, a spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover confirmed to Kelley Blue Book today.
“Discovery Sport has been one of our best-selling vehicles and has an important place in the global SUV market,” the JLR spokesperson said via email.
One of the smallest SUVs in the brand’s lineup struggled to keep pace with compact luxury SUV rivals such as the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and Genesis GV70, among many others. After a hot start when it launched for the 2015 model year as a replacement to the LR2, the Discovery Sport was outsold last year by nearly every other SUV in the Land Rover portfolio.
What Is Happening at Jaguar Land Rover?
Jaguar Land Rover finds itself at an inflection point. Sales for the luxury British brand sharply declined last year, falling 16.9% in its most lucrative and largest North American market, according to its annual report issued in May. That report and an investor call that followed indicated that JLR and parent company Tata Motors out of India intend to grow its business and portfolio in North America to be as large as the entire global operation is now, industry publication Automotive News reported.
Last week, Land Rover debuted the Range Rover GT electric performance vehicle that looks as much like a wagon as it does an SUV. That leaves a question mark for Jaguar.
Jaguar has ceased making vehicles, though its promised turnaround as a bespoke electric car maker was heralded by the Type 00 electric saloon concept in 2024. In May, Jaguar teased the Jaguar Type 01, an electric grand tourer sedan to compete with the likes of the Bentley Flying Spur.
JLR intends to keep pushing upmarket, which, along with poor sales, explains the cancellation of the affordable Discovery Sport.
Land Rover has essentially become three sub-brands: Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery. Under the Discovery arm, only the Discovery 3-row SUV will remain. Range Rover remains the high-end brand that starts with the roughly $51,000 Range Rover Evoque and extends to the $115,750 Range Rover.
The Defender was relaunched in 2020 as an off-road lineup of SUVs, with essentially the same model in three different sizes, including a 2-door Defender 90 and a 3-row Defender 130.
What Replaces the Discovery Sport?
Even though there is no shortage of SUVs across JLR’s lineup, It is rumored that the Discovery Sport will be replaced by a Defender Sport. And, yes, there is a separate Range Rover Sport stickered at $79,450.
