Just when you thought the rich are getting richer as the world gets addicted to SUVs, Jaguar Land Rover has decided to cull the limited-edition SVO-built £240,000 Range Rover SV Coupe. Despite making waves and orders being taken for its 999 planned examples at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, Land Rover has cancelled the two-door Range Rover citing plans on “focusing its resources and investment on the next generation of world-class products”, it explained in a statement.
For industry observers, this recent development from Jaguar Land Rover comes on the heels of news of thousands of job cuts as the company faces declining sales in China and falling demand for diesel passenger vehicles in Europe.
Jaguar Land Rover was one of the few companies that stuck to their guns on diesel engines, pouring considerable resources into the development of a diesel-powered Ingenium engine with a bulk of its European sales being diesel. Alongside its massive spending spree on engine and platform development, the company also financed the development of Jaguar’s first all-electric model, the i-Pace, and its ongoing campaign in Formula E.
Jaguar Land Rover cites uncertainty caused by Brexit negotiations starting to come undone as the deadline looms close, along with China’s economic slowdown and recent trade war with the United States, as some of the key reasons for the company’s poor 2018 sales performance. With Jaguar Land Rover being the United Kingdom’s biggest car maker, and Brexit chaos also cited as a cause for concern for Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, it seems like the perfect storm is brewing on the company’s front with the SV Coupe being the first ship scuttled.
According to Autocar, the Range Rover SV Coupe would have been the first model to be completely built by the company’s SVO division, with only the bonnet and lower half of the tailgate retained over the standard Range Rover.
Sadly we will never know if the SV Coupe is as unique as the report says it is. Whether it was the narrow appeal of a two-door premium SUV like the defunct MINI Paceman, or its Cullinan-rivalling asking price was a step too far for even the most cashed-up SUV customer, the world feels just a little poorer now.