Why Land Rover Defender EV won't launch anytime soon
What's the story
If you were hoping to see Land Rover's iconic Defender in an electric avatar, we have bad news.
The company has announced that the electric version of its popular model won't be launched until the end of this decade.
The delay stems from design challenges of integrating an electric powertrain into the current SUV.
Lennard Hoornik, JLR's Chief Commercial Officer, confirmed the news to Autocar.
Design hurdles
Current Defender model faces electrification challenges
Hoornik explained that the current 'L663' car, which is built on its D7x platform, isn't ideal for electrification as it doesn't have enough space.
"The L663 is brilliant at what it does and we do have a [four-cylinder] plug-in hybrid version already, but it's not easy to find the extra space you need within that chassis for batteries," he said.
This is due to the axle packaging and capability requirements of the vehicle.
Future plans
JLR's commitment to electric production remains strong
Despite these challenges, JLR is still sticking to its promise of producing an electric model for each of its new brands.
"We have said that we will make an electric production model for each of our new brands [Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar] and remain committed to that," Hoornik said.
However, he admitted that finding space on the current Defender platform is extremely difficult.
Evolution
Significant evolution needed for Defender's electric version
Hoornik hinted that a major evolution of the Defender would be required to make room for an electric version.
"The EV will need to come at quite a significant step in the evolution of the Defender," he said.
This means either a second-gen Defender on a new platform or a new model under the Defender brand specifically designed for electrification could be in the works.