Range Rover Electric Teased, Bookings Open

Range Rover has kickstarted its electric program with the pre-bookings for its first fully electric SUV, as the launch is slated for 2024. Along with it, the company also shared a glimpse of its EV that will soon join its plug-in hybrids and even hybrid range. The upcoming prototype, which is in the testing stage, will be designed, engineered and built in the United Kingdom, on the flexible Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) in Solihull, alongside existing mild and plug-in hybrid Range Rover vehicles.

Expanding its efficiency, the company will also produce the batteries and EDUs at JLR’s new Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Till now, the company has tested the front-end robustness by analysing multi-body systems on the chassis, and virtual wading at up to 50 kmph, suggesting that the upcoming electric Range Rover will feature a similar suspension set-up to its ICE counterparts.

Additionally, the on-road testing involved adapting the upcoming electric Range Rover to temperatures ranging from -40C to +50C, in regions from Sweden to Dubai. The global physical testing programme has been adapted for Range Rover’s first fully electric vehicle to ensure the robustness of the electric drive system, including its underfloor, battery durability, chassis integrity and vehicle dynamics tests for thermal derating.

While the company has not yet revealed the electric motor capacity of the upcoming Range Rover, it does expect it to feature an 800v architecture suggesting a fast-charging capability. Its closest rival, the recently unveiled Porsche Macan EV, boasts a 600 bhp electric motor, powered by two electric motors, one at the front, and one at the rear. Like the Range Rover electric, even the Porsche Macan EV is slated to launch in 2024.