Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, will make a major investment in a project that will culminate in a replacement for the iconic Defender, Autocar UK has learnt. The project has been described as the carmaker’s most ambitious ever undertaken. Land Rover’s new global brand director, said that the first results of the project “would be seen in the next two to three years”.

As well as a brand new platform and factory space, a wide range of body styles is expected to include estates and pick-ups, as well as bespoke specials for commercial customers. The first of the new models is expected to roll off the production line by mid-2015. Land Rover is currently at work on the strategy stage of the Defender project, with the engineering, design and marketing divisions deciding the number and type of variants, and the likely sales volumes.

Once a firm plan is established for the new Defender, a concept will be readied for early 2013. Although Land Rover sold just over 18,000 Defenders in 2010, it still feels that the vehicle defines the company. The decision to make a huge investment in a traditional Land Rover is based on a huge market research programme that has divided the global SUV into three segments: luxury, leisure and utility.

The global utility SUV segment is good for 3.25 million sales annually, a figure that’s set to grow by 25 percent by 2017. By contrast, the global luxury SUV segment is currently good for two million sales and set to grow by 35 percent by 2017. The leisure sector accounted for around eight million units last year.