Jaguar Land Rover has launched the fourth member of the Range Rover group of vehicles, as it unveiled the Velar — a sleek SUV — sized between its popular Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, at a glitzy event in central London on Wednesday.

Gerry McGovern, design director at Land Rover, said that the vehicle, distinctive by its “clean reductive design” was another step in the “transformational journey” of Land Rover, and hailed those involved in the development of the vehicle, including Ratan Tata, who he said had been a “passionate advocate” of the car from the moment he saw it.

The Velar, which went on sale from Wednesday evening, will be produced at JLR’s Solihull manufacturing plant, in the UK, with full production set to commence in coming weeks and deliveries beginning with the UK and Europe later this year.

Velar, derived from the Latin word for “to cover,” refers to a code name used on original Range Rovers in the 1960s. Among its notable features include retractable door handles, and rear LED light clusters that give the vehicle a particularly sleek appearance, while the interior houses a new “Touch Pro Duo” infotainment system with two high-definition touch screens,

CEO Ralf Speth stressed the company’s commitment to Britain. “Our heart, soul and headquarters will always be in the UK,” he said. While JLR does not provide estimates on the numbers it hopes to sell, it expects sales to be spread evenly across its markets. IHS Global Insight estimates that it could sell around 51,000 Velars a year at its peak in 2019, a sizeable figure though below the Range Rover Evoque that has been selling over 100,000 vehicles annually since 2012, and is expected to keep doing so at least until the updated model.

“We expect it to sell well,” says IHS Global Insight’s Ian Fletcher, noting the pricing point at which the Velar sits, starting at just under £45,000, which combined with the high level of tech available in the car was likely to make it attractive, including to those who had previously opted for either the Sport or the Evoque.

“I think that what we are seeing is a further evolution of where Land Rover sees the Range Rover brand.”

Jaguar Land Rover sold 583,313 cars in the year to December, a 20 per cent gain on the year before, and earlier this year expressed confidence about the year ahead, despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

IHS Global Insight expects sales across the group to continue to grow, selling over 711,500 vehicles in 2019.

Among the vehicles expected to be launched by the group later this year is the E-Pace, a Jaguar cross over.

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