Is the Land Rover Defender already in PH?

Back in December last year, Land Rover Philippines announced the availability of its most rugged SUV, the Land Rover Defender 90 and 110. According to them, first units should be made available by May 2020. 

Given the current pandemic, a formal launch is yet to have occurred but it looks like units are now on Philippine shores as we spotted while browsing through Facebook and Instagram.

The first spotting was posted by the good people behind Visor. A reader of theirs spotted a Defender 110 plying EDSA. This could mean that the specific unit is already owned or may have been travelling between the Land Rover dealerships in Greenhills and Bonifacio Global City. The next is from Instagram. One of our acquaintances from many years ago posted a story showing him at what looks like a preview of the all-new Defender, also the 110. Pardon the blurred photos as these are only screenshots of the story. The main giveaway that this is in fact in the Philippines is the orange conduction sticker on the windshield.

A teaser was also posted on the official Land Rover Philippines Facebook page showing the Defender traversing some muddy off-road terrain. It indicates that it will be introduced in Asia in August 2020 which is just over a week and a half from now. Based on what we’re seeing online, it’s safe to say that the Philippines will be the first market in Asia to receive the new version of the very iconic model.

Again, despite no local launch, Land Rover has also already announced some of the specifications and pricing of the all-new Defender. The new model will be available with accessory packages that will add items based on the purpose consumers want their capable SUVs for. These are Urban Pack, Country Pack, Adventure Pack, and Explorer Pack.

For pricing, the base Land Rover Defender 110 has a suggested retail price of Php 6,090,000. Adding any of the packages will of course add to the price. The Urban Pack is priced at Php 6,210,000, the Country Pack is slightly more expensive at Php 6,260,000. The more rugged offerings, the Adventure Pack is priced at Php 6,340,000, the Explorer Pack is on top at Pho 6,510,000. Bringing the price up all the way to Php 9,290,000 is the First Edition which is also a limited production model.

No exact engine specifications for the local market are known but in other markets, the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 is available with choices of a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, 3.0-liter turbocharged gasoline with a mild-hybrid system, and two different 2.0-liter turbodiesel options.

Given the sightings and teasers mentioned above, we can expect the all-new 2020 Land Rover Defender to be officially launched in the Philippines by August 2020.