Speaking to Autocar.co.uk, the head honcho of Jaguar Land Rover in the United Kingdom made it clear “there will be a market for a small to medium-sized electric SUV.” On the downside, the Evoque EV or whatever it will be called “won’t arrive before the next generation of the entry-level Range Rover.”
Rawdon Glover described the Evoque PHEV as a “fleet game-changer” because more than a third of sales in the United Kingdom are expected to go to fleets. The 1.5-liter engine is good for 200 PS (197 horsepower) while the electric motor is understood to output 108 PS (107 horsepower).
The full-size Range Rover and Range Rover Sport are both available with plug-in hybrid options, but the flagship model is expected to go completely electric “in under five years.” The Modular Longitudinal Architecture is the most important piece of the puzzle, and Jaguar Land Rover developed this platform for multiple levels of electrification.
MLA is capable of mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV applications, and the first nameplate to receive this architecture could be the all-new Defender. That’s right, ladies and gents; the Defender is going unibody! Worse still for off-road enthusiasts, the rear suspension features air bags for greater comfort to the detriment of rock-crawling capability.
Jaguar Land Rover expects every new model in the lineup to be electrified by 2020, but that’s not all. Over-the-air updates, 4G and 5G connectivity, and cloud services are also in the pipeline.
