JLR rolls out Discovery Sport petrol model at Rs 56.50 lakh

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover on Monday rolled out a two-litre petrol version of Land Rover Discovery Sport at a starting price of Rs 56.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) as part of its strategy to switch to petrol variants due to the ban on larger diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.

The 2.0-litre, four cylinder engineof the Discovery Sport develops 240PS of power and 340Nm of torque. It has a 9-speed gearbox and the turbo petrol motor makes the Discovery Sport faster than its diesel sibling, clocking 0-100kmph in just 8.2 seconds.

"The Discovery Sport petrol variant was not planned to be introduced in India as early as this. It was planned for later. So definitely, the diesel ban has been factored into our plans," JLR India president Rohit Suri said.

Suri, however, also said that the company had started planning for petrol variants earlier as the Indian market was beginning to drift towards it from diesel due to narrowing price difference between the two fuels.

When asked if JLR planned to accelerate the launch of petrol variants of its different models, including the popular Range Rover Evoque, he said: ``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.''

He said the new variant of the Discovery Sport will help the company broaden the appeal of the premium SUV for customers who are more inclined towards driving a vehicle with a powerful petrol engine.

The Land Rover SUV range in India includes the flagship Range Rover with a price tag starting at Rs 2.12 crore, Range Rover Sport Rs 1.18 crore, Discovery Sport at Rs 47.6 lakh and new Range Rover Evoque at Rs 48.60 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

At present, the company produces five models locally. JLR India will add three more showrooms this fiscal to take its total to 26 by the end of the year.