Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that an electric Defender is in the works. However, since the EV model requires “a significant step in the Defender's evolution,” it may be a while before we see it hit the streets.
When will Land Rover Defender EV launch?
As part of its restructuring, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Jaguar each became a separate brand under Jaguar Land Rover in 2023.
JLR announced plans in 2021 to launch six electric cars across the range by 2026. Plans called for Jaguar to become an all-electric brand, while the Range Rover, Defender, and Discover would each release at least one EV by the end of the decade. .
Last February, CEO Adrian Mardell admitted, “We're going slower than we said three years ago.” Mardell said the company now aims to introduce four new EVs.
The JLR boss said the company is taking its time “to ensure that we are providing consumers with the best cars we have ever made”.
The Land Rover Defender EV appears to be one of the models that will be delayed. JLR's Chief Commercial Officer, Lennard Hoornik, confirmed that A motor vehicle that the electric Defender SUV seems more difficult than expected.
JLR electric cars are coming soon
“Electrifying the current 'L663' car, in its D7x position, is not what we want,” he explained. Although the (L663) model is “smart in what it does” as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), Hoornik said, “it's not easy to get the extra space you need in that battery chassis.”
JLR's boss confirmed that the company is still committed to introducing an electric model under each brand, including the Range Rover, Defender, Discover, and Jaguar.
However, “finding space in the current Defender space is really difficult, so we'll have to use something different,” Hoornik said. “The EV will need to come at an important step in the Defender's evolution,” he said.
Although Hoornik did not confirm it, comments suggest that the electric Land Rover Defender will probably have to wait for JLR's dedicated EV platform, which is expected to be released towards the end of the decade.
Meanwhile, Range Rover's first electric SUV will finally hit showrooms this year. At the end of October, JLR said the Range Rover Electric had more than 48,000 customers on the waiting list. Last week, we caught a glimpse of its mid-size electric SUV, likely the Velar, during a test drive.
After unveiling its new ultra-luxury EV concept last year, Jaguar rocked the internet (for better or for worse) as it looked to be revitalizing the brand. The radical GT concept will start a new line of ultra-luxury electric models, which Mardell said will probably cost around £150,000, or about $200,000.
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