Gasoline lives on in Land Rover's EV push

With a lineup of only SUVs and crossovers, Land Rover must move into electrification with surgical precision.

Vehicles such as the Defender are engineered for off-road use, and many are used for overlanding. The $100,000 Range Rover already has a gross vehicle weight of nearly 7,400 pounds, and the upcoming battery-electric model won't weigh any less. Somehow, it must perform as well as the combustion-powered Rover and deliver a decent driving range between charges.

JLR, parent company of Jaguar and Land Rover, is investing $19 billion in new products and facility upgrades through 2028 to transform most of its vehicles to full electric power.

"By 2030, all nameplates will offer pure-electric options that are expected to account for 60 percent of our retail sales," the company said.

Range Rover: An electric version, using the MLA platform, arrives late in 2024. The Range Rover will have two motors, one for each axle. The estimated range is 300 miles.

Range Rover Sport: An electric model arrives late in 2024. Two motors will drive all four wheels. Blistering performance over off-road capability will be the recipe for the Range Rover Sport.

Range Rover Velar: JLR confirmed this year that it will build a second generation of Land Rover's most street-friendly crossover. Slated to arrive in the second half of 2025, the redesigned Range Rover Velar will be an electric vehicle underpinned by the same EMA platform as the Discovery and Evoque.

Range Rover Evoque: The compact crossover is expected to be reborn as an EV in 2025 and switch to the EMA platform.

Discovery Sport: Freshened for 2024 with an upgraded interior, improved infotainment system and exterior tweaks, the next big change for the Discovery Sport will be the switch to electric, probably in late 2025. It would use the same EMA platform as the similar sized Evoque.

Defender: Styling changes to the Defender have traditionally moved at a glacial pace. The shape of the rugged off-roader is not expected to change much in the coming years as Land Rover focuses on adding new models and new powertrains. A freshening is possible in 2025, as is an EV version in 2025. A soft-top Defender 90 is possible in 2026.

Discovery: The current-generation Discovery has withered against the competition, posting the lowest sales numbers since the model was launched in 1989. The redesigned sixth-generation model, expected in late 2025, should offer gasoline-electric hybrid and full-electric powertrains.