Land Rover's iconic Defender SUV will not be electrified until the late 2020s due to packaging constraints within its current platform. JLR COO Lennard Hoornik confirmed to Autocar that the existing Defender architecture is unsuitable for accommodate the necessary battery size and electric powertrain components. While a plug-in hybrid variant is currently available, a fully electric version requires a new platform. The electric Range Rover, launching soon, utilizes a different platform altogether, highlighting the Defender's unique challenges. JLR remains committed to producing an electric model for each of its brands and is investing in new technologies to enable this transition.
The Land Rover Defender will transition to an electric powertrain, but not until the latter part of this decade. This delay stems from limitations associated with the current-generation model's platform. Lennard Hoornik, Chief Operating Officer of JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover ), revealed to UK magazine Autocar that converting the existing Defender into an electric vehicle (EV) is unfeasible due to space constraints within its current D7x architecture.
'Electrifying the current 'L663' car on its D7x platform is not what we want,' Hoornik explained to Autocar. 'The L663 is brilliant at what it does and we do have a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version already, but it's not easy to find the extra space you need within that chassis for batteries, given the axle packaging and capability that it needs.' While JLR affirms its commitment to producing an electric model for each of its brands, finding sufficient space within the current Defender platform proves exceptionally challenging. Hoornik refrained from specifying whether the electric Defender would be based on a completely new platform with the existing bodywork or if a next-generation version would debut later this decade with pure electric capabilities. JLR is currently testing and will soon introduce an electric Range Rover, which, however, utilizes a distinct platform from the Defender. This platform difference means that the larger straight-six 3.0-litre engines and plug-in hybrid systems found in the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport cannot be integrated into the Defender. In October 2023, JLR announced its intention to produce EVs across the Range Rover, Defender, Jaguar, and Discovery brands as part of its strategy to have nine battery-powered models available by 2030. This involves a €1.3 billion ($2.2bn) investment in the Nitra, Slovakia factory, where the Defender and Discovery are currently manufactured. The electric Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, along with Jaguar's EVs, will be produced in the UK. JLR aims to eliminate all internal-combustion engine-powered vehicles from its global showroom by 2039, four years ahead of Europe and the UK's ban on new petrol and diesel vehicle sales. The Defender remains JLR's most popular model in Australia, with 3209 units delivered to customers in 2022. It also topped the charts as the best-selling large SUV priced over $80,000, outselling the BMW X5 by a mere 52 deliveries
ELECTRIC VEHICLES LAND ROVER DEFENDER PLATFORM JLR RANGE ROVER PLUG-IN HYBRID
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