Will Land Rover Defender in India get a 50% Price Cut cause of the FTA agreement of UK or is it still a far-fetched dream?

The buzz around a 50% price drop on the Land Rover Defender due to the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is largely misleading. While the FTA proposes to slash auto import duties from over 100% to just 10%, the Defender won’t benefit from this tariff cut. That’s because the SUV is built in Slovakia, not the UK, and hence doesn’t qualify for the reduced tax benefits under the India-UK deal.

Defender Not Made in the UK, So No FTA Relief

Under the new FTA terms, only vehicles manufactured in India or the UK qualify for reduced tariffs. The Land Rover Defender, however, is built at JLR’s Nitra plant in Slovakia. Since it doesn’t meet the FTA’s origin criteria, it remains subject to existing import duties. This means the Defender, currently priced between ₹1.05 crore and ₹2.79 crore (ex-showroom), won’t become drastically cheaper anytime soon.

Local Assembly May Bring Some Price Relief

That said, there is some good news for Indian buyers. JLR’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Molyneux recently confirmed that local assembly plans for the Defender are under consideration. While there’s no official announcement or timeline yet, if and when local assembly begins, prices could drop by around 20%. A similar price cut was seen when JLR started assembling Range Rover models like the Velar, Sport, and Evoque in India.

Once localised, the Defender’s starting price could come down to approximately ₹85 lakh. But expectations of a ₹50 lakh Defender are unrealistic, at least in the short term.

Why Range Rover Prices Won’t Drop Either

Many assumed that the FTA would lead to significantly lower Range Rover prices as well. But that’s not happening, and here’s why: several models in the Range Rover lineup—such as the Evoque, Velar, Sport, and even the Range Rover LWB—are already being locally assembled at Tata Motors’ plant in Chakan near Pune.

Since these models are not imported fully built, they’re taxed at a much lower 16.5% rate (for completely knocked down units) instead of the 70-110% applied to fully imported luxury cars. Hence, the FTA has little to no impact on their pricing in India.

Volume Strategy and Market Impact

In FY2024, JLR sold about 6,200 units in India, with relatively low volumes for fully imported models like the Defender and Discovery. Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji also clarified that there are no plans to shift Defender and Discovery production from Slovakia to the UK, as their sales volumes in India remain limited—below 1,000 units for the Defender.

The company is instead focusing on a local assembly strategy to improve supply chain efficiency, reduce forex risks, and support local suppliers. For consumers, this means better availability and slightly more competitive pricing—not deep discounts.

Final Thoughts

The idea of a ₹50 lakh Defender is far-fetched under the current manufacturing setup. Since the SUV is made in Slovakia, it won’t get FTA benefits. And while local assembly is likely in the future, the expected price cut is only about 20%. Range Rover models too are unaffected by the FTA as most are already being assembled locally. For now, buyers hoping for a big price drop on these luxury SUVs will have to wait—or settle for Tata’s Harrier, which shares its platform roots with Land Rover.