Land Rover confirms the rugged Defender is not getting electrified anytime soon due to platform limitations as JLR prepares to shift into electrification.
A new report confirms the current generation Defender will not get a formal EV model.
With Jaguar taking the unconventional route into its transformation into an all-electric brand, the funky colors and its odd marketing strategy it can be easy to forget that fellow brand Land Rover is also preparing to enter the EV market with an all-electric Range Rover being among one of the models that the company is producing soon.
But while this luxurious nameplate will bring electrification to the brand, the rugged Land Rover Defender gets to wait its turn to join the EV club with Jaguar’s COO confirming the current generation model will not get an EV version with buyers having to wait until the next-gen model to be able to go trailbusting in the backwoods.
Platform prevents EV transformation from happening
The current platform and a lack of room for extra batteries are keeping the Defender from making the leap into pure electric motoring.
A prominent reason why the Defender is not getting an all-electric EV is because of its rugged platform. The current generation model has been in production since 2019 with its D7x platform being built to not only be rugged, but to also fit several different gasoline and diesel engines. But while the task of converting this already flexible platform to fit EV powertrains may seem straightforward, Jaguar Chief Operating Officer Lennard Hoornik revealed in an interview with Autocar the conversion into an EV with this platform is not as straightforward as it sounds.
“Electrifying the current ‘L663’ car, on its D7x platform, is not what we want,” Hoornik said. “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, given the axle packaging and capability that it needs.”
This lack of room can emerge as a potent obstacle for most EV conversions due to the space needed for not only the battery pack but also the electric motors. As a result, most vehicle platforms are incapable of an EV conversion, and the modifications and revamps needed to make the platform work with the green powertrain are often not worth the significant investment and many automakers prefer to build new platforms for these models that are designed from the very start for EV applications. For now, buyers will have to make do with the Europe-only PHEV variant.
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Defender might get EV treatment next-generation
This stae of affairs might change when the model is revamped with the Defender possibly getting an EV at that point in time.
JLR has committed to offering electric models for each of its newly-formed subbrands, including Range Rover, Discovery, Jaguar, and Defender. “[We] remain committed to that,” Hoornik said, “but finding the space on the current Defender platform is really, really hard, so we will need to use something different.” He said that “the EV will need to come at quite a significant step in the evolution of the Defender.”
This evolution will be coming when the model is revamped. JLR could use the opportunity to squeeze in an EV at that point with the variant being built on an EV-exclusive platform that can fit all the pieces of the electrified powertrain in place while still maintaining the high levels of rugged capability that the Defender nameplate is known for. This might include the idea of selling the EV alongside the ICE model since the Defender has a very strong pool of fans and loyalists in Europe. Many of these loyalists crave familiarity and with JLR needing every avenue of profit that it can possibly get right now, the last thing the company would need is an angry customer base who will move to German automakers for their SUV needs if JLR moves too far outside the box too fast with the next-generation Defender.
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