The 1,000,000th Land Rover Discovery has been made at Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant near Birmingham in England.
The milestone vehicle is heading off on a ‘journey of discovery’ to Beijing in China – one of Land Rover’s fastest growing markets.
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The 50-day, 8,000 mile adventure will be undertaken by three Discovery vehicles travelling through more than a dozen countries across Europe and Central Asia, finishing at the Beijing motor show on 23 April.
The expedition also presents Land Rover with the opportunity to launch its most ambitious fund-raising project yet by aiming to raise GBP1m for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The money will be used to support a water sanitation project in Uganda.
The Discovery was launched in 1989 (Job One, a rare three-door model, is a museum exhibit) as a third model pitched between the luxury Range Rover and ‘original Land Rover’ Defender.
Last year saw record sales of almost 45,000 units in 170 markets. JLR exported 83% of production.
Solihull now employs around 6,000 people following a recruitment drive launched six months ago, boosting the workforce by 20% to support expansion plans. The Freelander and Evoque are made at Halewood near Liverpool.
