16,000 joint waiting list for new Electric Range Rover
More than 16,000 customers have already signed up to the waiting list for the new Range Rover Electric.
The British brand’s first full electric car, which is claimed to offer performance similar to the current V8-powered flagship, is due to launch later this year. Range Rover opened a waiting list for the model in December 2023 – and has reported strong interest in the model.
While the waiting list only gives an indication of interested customers, rather than a formal reservation, JLR boss Adrian Mardell said the firm was “excited about the strong client interest” in the model.
The first battery-electric Range Rover will be based on the existing combustion engined model and JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) product engineering boss Thomas Müller has claimed it will be “the quietest and most refined Range Rover ever”.
Preview images show that it will also retain similar styling, albeit with a few bespoke elements. It will use an 800V architecture, which will enable ultra-fast charging.
Although Range Rover bosses have yet to give any performance details for the new model, Müller said it will have the same “go-anywhere” capability as the ICE version, with a pledge that it will offer towing, wading and all-terrain capability that will exceed any other luxury electric SUV – including the ability to wade through 850mm-deep water.
The hint that the Range Rover Electric will offer performance “comparable” to the existing V8 suggests a total output close to the 523bhp that model offers.
It is expected to adopt a twin-motor set-up, which will allow for greater all wheel-drive ability and systems such as torque vectoring to boost its off-road potential.
JLR has recently begun an on-road prototype testing programme for the new model, with trials taking place in locations such as Sweden and Dubai.
The firm says its test programme has been adapted to particularly examine the vehicle’s underfloor, battery durability and thermal derating.
The Range Rover Electric will be built in Solihull alongside the existing mild- and plug-in hybrid versions. It will initially use batteries from a third-party supplier before eventually switching to packs produced in the new Somerset gigafactory that JLR parent firm Tata is planning.
Batteries and electric drive units for the new model will be assembled at JLR’s new electric propulsion manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton.
The subtle evolution of the Range Rover’s design over the years suggests its recognisable silhouette is intrinsic to the model name, so it’s likely to be maintained for all powertrain variants.
Originally, it was planned that Land Rover’s first EV would share the MLA underpinnings with the long-promised electric Jaguar XJ, but that model was cancelled as it was deemed incompatible with then CEO Thierry Bolloré’s vision for the brand.
