Land Rover is currently working on developing an electric version of its Defender. This should see the light of day by 2025, with a rather correct autonomy of around 500 kilometers.
Today, almost all manufacturers have at least one electric vehicle in their range. Some now only offer electrified models, such as Volvo, while others have already announced their ambition to stop selling thermal cars in the more or less short term. Anyway, they won’t really have a choice, when the marketing of internal combustion cars will be banned in Europe in 2035. But some brands don’t really seem to be panicking for the moment.
First model in 2024
This is Land Rover, which lags far behind its European competitors. Because if the British firm already offers several rechargeable hybrid models, such as the Range Rover PHEV, the Range Rover Sport PHEV or the Evoque and the Discovery, no 100% electric vehicle is available in the catalog.
But that should change soon. Indeed, and as the site reminds us auto weekthe manufacturer plans to launch its first electric vehicle in 2024. It will then be the Range Rover EV, the details of which have not yet been revealed. Five other models will follow over the next five years, allowing Land Rover to be up to date and in line with the will of the European Union.
In March 2020, the Jaguar-Land Rover group already announced that three electric vehicles were already in the pipeline.
If we do not yet know the exact list of electric cars that will be launched by Land Rover, the site Top Electric SUV evoked two models: Range Rover Sport and Defender. And precisely, we are starting to know more about the latter, the second generation of which was formalized in 2020. The British site Autoexpress indeed gives us some information about the 4×4, which will be available in a new electric version from 2025.
In total, three variants should be proposed, corresponding to the 90, 110 and 130 versions of the thermal model that we already know well. Rival of the GMC Hummer EV but also of the Rivian R1S, this one should sport a slightly different face from the internal combustion model, especially since the 4X4 will be restyled anyway, whatever the variant, in 2025.
The dimensions should remain very close, while some changes should be made to the driving position, which will in particular emphasis on sustainable materials.
More than 480 kilometers of autonomy
This electric Land Rover Defender will also be based on a whole new platform called MLA Flex and replacing the current D7 Premium Lightweight Architecture. Already fitted to the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, it has several advantages, including that of being able to accommodate an electric motor in addition to conventional combustion engines. If we do not yet know all the technical specificities of this new version, it could carry a large 100 kWh battery.
A choice that may seem surprising, when the trend is rather towards reducing the size of accumulators, due to the cost of production which is rising again. Not to mention the fact that a large battery significantly increases the weight and consumption of the car.
The autonomy of the Defender EV should still be reasonable, since it should be around 300 miles, or about 480 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. Figures which would then be close to those of the Range Rover EV planned for 2024.
It will therefore still be necessary to wait before knowing more about the technical sheet of this Defender EV, which risks raising the hair of purists. But let them be reassured, the 4X4 should not lose its luster. Indeed, according to the engineers of the brand, the electric motorization would bring its share of benefits. The power could then be better controlled, especially in off-road driving, as well as the torque distribution. In addition, the vehicle’s flat underbody would improve ground clearance and reduce the risk of rubbing on rocks off-road.
This new version should see the light of day in 2025, while the first deliveries will begin in the course of 2026. No price has yet been announced, but it should be higher than the 61,500 euros asked for the classic Defender.
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