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Fully-electric Land Rover is coming

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Land Rover is set to create its own version of Jaguar's all-electric I-Pace SUV.

The British off-road brand has introduced its first series of plug-in hybrid models with P400e variants of the updated 2018 Model Year Range Rover Sport and Range Rover due to arrive in Australian showrooms by the middle of next year. But they won't be the only Land Rover models to get electric assistance.

Speaking to Australian media at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show last week, Land Rover's Chief Creative Officer and head of design, Gerry McGovern, said it was inevitable his brand would adapt the skateboard-style platform from the Jaguar I-Pace to develop a fully-electric Land Rover within the near future.

He wouldn't go into any detail about timing or where it would be positioned within the current range, which is defined by three pillars, from the utilitarian upcoming Defender family, the practical Discovery range and the luxurious Range Rover line-up, but indicated that electrification would naturally slot into all three areas over time.

"We will embrace electrification and it is a really important prerequisite for Land Rover. Again Land Rover lends itself to that well," he said.

"While we work to get to the right scale, we have to make sure we maintain the essence of these brands in the way they look and feel. Electrification is right up the top. It is coming.

"There are different ways to approach it. The big question the electric vehicle poses is do you want to take advantage of the benefits in the change of the layout and the package you are afforded without needing to have an engine under a bonnet up the front? Do you want to do a cab forward design or a one-box, which is good for a minivan but not for me. Do you want to utilise that space for all types of innovative features. Do you put all that extra space inside? That does fundamentally change the volume and proportions of the vehicle, which is crusucally importatnt to design.

"We have to decide what is the right approach for us."

One element that McGovern said would not be compromised in the development of an all-electric Land Rover is its four-wheel drive abilities, suggesting that Land Rover could take a more rugged approach than the I-Pace and give the two vehicles clearly defined, and separate, characters.

"For us, that is our core. It has to be [capable off-road]," he said.

"For me, we have to get into electrification. We have to embrace it. We have to do it in a way that maintains the essence of the brand in a relevant way."

Land Rover's EV is unlikely to become a production reality for a few years as the brand has other priorities ahead of that, including finalising the development of its next-gen Defender family which is due in 2019 and refreshing the stylish Evoque compact SUV.
 


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