According to Auto Express, the Land Rover Defender will go totally electric over the next few years. The most recent version of the popular 4×4 was only introduced in 2020, but completely electric versions of the 90, 110, and 130 are expected to arrive as part of a revised Defender line-up in 2025, with automobiles reaching customers in 2026.
The transition is projected to result in a platform technology shift from the current D7 Premium Lightweight Architecture to Land Rover’s advanced new MLA Flex platform. MLA can accommodate both fully electric and internal combustion engines, and it already underlies the company’s new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, with all-electric versions planned in 2024. The platform transition will occur at a time when the Defender is ready for a mid-life update, but don’t expect significant changes to the car’s appearance, despite the change in architecture.
The style and dimensions of the Defender are expected to remain the same, as with the Discovery Sport, which shifted platforms to Land Rover’s Premium Transverse Architecture in 2019 to allow for greater electrification.
Inside, there may be some tweaks to the infotainment system, such as a slightly larger screen, but the cabin design has been so warmly accepted by customers that it is unlikely to be altered significantly. However, as Land Rover seeks to improve its environmental credentials, the usage of sustainable materials is set to expand.
Engineers at the company are excited about the potential of their legendary 4×4 being electric and the benefits it will bring to its off-road capabilities. Through software management, more control of electric power delivery is feasible, as is sophisticated torque vectoring. Both will improve the Defender’s significant off-road capability, while a completely flat underbelly will provide more ground clearance.
We’re yet to see how Land Rover separates its all-electric models from internal combustion-engined vehicles, but with less cooling required, we’d expect the intakes on the ICE model to be blanked out for the electric version – as shown in our exclusive Defender EV photograph. According to JLR rumours, this treatment might be used to the company’s only current all-electric model, the Jaguar I-Pace, which is set for a facelift in early 2023.
Despite calls from some quarters for Land Rover to accelerate the arrival of all-electric models, the company’s current management is unwilling to do so, given that the company has an order bank of over 200,000 cars, the majority of which are high-margin Range Rovers, Range Rover Sports, and Defenders. Buyers clearly have a preference for electrified JLR items. Currently, over 65% of all models sold are electrified in some fashion, ranging from mild hybrids to plug-in hybrids and the I-Pace full EV.
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