Discovery Sport Retires
JLR Confirms Discovery Sport Production End by 2026, Citing EU Safety Compliance Costs
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Key Points
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The Discovery Sport is produced at Land Rover's Halewood plant in Merseyside and is built alongside the Range Rover Evoque, with JLR also launching market editions of Evoque and Velar to maintain their marketplace presence as the Discovery Sport retires.
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Range Rover GT is expected to replace the Discovery Sport on the Halewood production line, and it will be the first car built on JLR's new EMA architecture.
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The retirement is tied to the EU's General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2); while JLR has updated other models to comply, the Discovery Sport’s age and thinner profit margins made upgrades commercially unviable, a scenario echoed by Porsche’s decision to end the ICE Macan instead of updating it.
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In the UK, the Discovery Sport remains configurable for now, but it is unclear when new orders will stop or when the model will exit the home market.
Land Rover is axing the Discovery Sport by December 2026, ending a run of more than 11 years for its cheapest SUV, according to This Is Money and The Sun. The model, which starts at £50,000 and is built at Land Rover's Halewood plant in Merseyside, has already been pulled from sale in France, Germany, and Spain.
The decision leaves the Discovery Sport as one of Land Rover's slowest-selling models. Daily Mail reports it now sells less than a tenth of its 2016 peak, when it moved over 122,000 units globally. JLR says retiring the model is simply the end of a normal lifecycle.
EU Safety Rules Made Updating the Car Unviable
The trigger for the axing is the EU's updated General Safety Regulation 2, known as GSR2. The rules require new safety features that the Discovery Sport does not currently carry. JLR has already updated other models to meet GSR2 standards, according to Head Topics.
But the Discovery Sport is too old and earns too little profit per car to justify the upgrade cost. This Is Money notes this mirrors Porsche's choice to kill the petrol Macan rather than pay to update it. JLR quietly confirmed the same commercial logic applies here.
Discovery Sport Fell From Top Seller to Near Irrelevance
The Discovery Sport launched in 2015 and quickly became a hit. It sold over 122,000 units in 2016 alone, making it one of Land Rover's best performers. The Sun described it as the brand's best-selling SUV at its peak.
By 2025, those numbers had collapsed. Sales fell to less than a tenth of that peak volume, according to Daily Mail. With margins already thin and demand fading, the case for spending millions on a safety upgrade simply did not stack up for JLR.
Range Rover GT Set to Take Over at Halewood
The Discovery Sport's retirement is not just a goodbye — it clears the way for something new. The Range Rover GT is expected to take over its slot on the Halewood production line. Streamline Feed reports the GT will be the first car built on JLR's new EMA platform, a next-generation architecture designed for electric and hybrid vehicles.
JLR is also rolling out special market editions of the Range Rover Evoque and Velar to fill the gap left by the Discovery Sport. Both models are built at Halewood alongside the outgoing car. The moves point to a clear shift upmarket as JLR phases out lower-margin products.
UK Buyers Still Have a Narrow Window to Order
Customers in France, Germany, and Spain can no longer place new orders for the Discovery Sport. The UK is different — for now. This Is Money confirmed the model is still configurable on the Land Rover website in Britain, though it is unclear how long that window will stay open.
Production at Halewood is set to stop in December 2026. Buyers who want one should move quickly. After that date, the Discovery Sport joins a long list of Land Rover nameplates that never made it to a second generation.
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