Land Rover Discovery Sport production to end in December 2026
The decision to discontinue the SUV is driven by new EU safety regulations and the Halewood factory's transition to electric vehicle production.
Land Rover will cease production of its Discovery Sport SUV at the end of 2026, a spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) confirmed. The vehicle, which has been on sale since 2015, will depart the market as JLR shifts its manufacturing focus towards electric vehicles.
The Halewood factory on Merseyside, where the Discovery Sport is produced, is being retooled to accommodate the production of new electric models, including the upcoming Range Rover GT. This transition, coupled with the introduction of more stringent EU safety regulations, has led to the discontinuation of the Discovery Sport.
New EU General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2) rules, which mandate features such as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), and Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS), are not integrated into the current Discovery Sport model. While JLR has updated its other vehicles to comply with these regulations, the SUV's age would necessitate a significant overhaul.
A JLR spokesperson stated that the end of Discovery Sport production aligns with normal product lifecycles. They added that dealers will continue to accept orders for a period, and new vehicles are expected to remain in stock through the first half of 2027 in some markets. However, order books have already closed in major European markets, including France, Germany, and Spain.
The Discovery Sport, which originally replaced the Land Rover Freelander in 2015, has seen a significant decline in popularity. In 2016, its first full year on sale, it achieved over 122,000 global sales. By 2025, this figure had dropped to fewer than 12,200 units. Across its lifespan, more than half a million Discovery Sports have been sold.
Despite its dwindling sales, the Discovery Sport was known for its off-road capabilities and towing strength. In a 2016 demonstration, a standard Discovery Sport successfully hauled a 100-tonne train along a six-mile stretch of railway track.
The Range Rover Evoque will continue as JLR's entry-level SUV, with prices starting from £44,430. The Freelander name is also slated for a return to the UK market as a new brand specializing in SUV models, developed in partnership with Chinese automaker Chery.
The Discovery Sport has also faced scrutiny regarding its reliability. Warrantywise's annual Reliability Index recently ranked it among the most troublesome used cars, with average repair claims totaling over £2,000 for issues that tend to occur around 73,000 miles.