Skip advert
Advertisement

Land Rover’s electric future previewed by trio of concept cars

Evoque and Range Rover Sport-based concept cars preview low emission future for established SUV maker

Land Rover electric concept

Jaguar Land Rover has revealed three low emission concept cars at the CENEX Low Carbon Vehicle Event at Millbrook. Based on a variety of Range Rovers, the trio of cars form part of the brand’s long term hybrid and battery-electric powertrain technology research, which kicked off in 2013 at a cost of £16.3m. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

• Best electric cars

The electric drive module (eDM) has been developed in-house and is said to be capable of producing ‘twice the power and torque of any electric-motor generator in production today’. Cleverly, the module can be inserted between any existing or future engine and transmission setup to create a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicle

The first concept is a conventional hybrid featuring an 89bhp diesel engine with a 15kW integrated motor mated to the super-frugal nine-speed automatic gearbox. It’s based on the pre-facelift Range Rover Evoque and is codenamed Concept_e MHEV (above). 

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, said: “This is a long-term Jaguar Land Rover research project exploring all aspects of future hybrid and battery electric vehicle technology. The three Concept_e vehicles will allow us to test and develop exciting new potential technologies that could form part of our low and zero emissions vision beyond 2020.”

Best 4x4s to buy now

Concept_e PHEV (below) is a plug-in version that employs a similar architecture, but with a 296bhp petrol engine matched to a 150kW motor. It gets an eight-speed transmission and is fitted within the body of a Range Rover Sport

The final concept is an all-electric off-roader with a 70kWh lithium ion battery and electric axle drive units. The Concept_e BEV gets two electric motors – one for each axle – but as yet hasn’t been assigned to a particular Land Rover model. As a result, this could hint at the all-new, pure-electric SUV for launch in the next five to 10 years. 

Dr Epple insists environmental innovation is at the heart of JLR’s business. “Technologies like these have already helped us reduce our fleet CO2 average by 25 per cent in recent years.

“Our future vision is to continue to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency while still delivering the luxury, performance, refinement and comfort our customers expect”, he said.

Should Land Rover build an all-electric SUV? Let us know what you think in the comments...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Deputy editor

Richard has been part of the team for over a decade. During this time he has covered a huge amount of news and reviews for Auto Express, as well as being the face of Carbuyer and DrivingElectric on Youtube. In his current role as deputy editor, he is now responsible for keeping our content flowing and managing our team of talented writers.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Land Rover’s theft problems subside as stolen car numbers hit three-year low
Land Rover Defender - front tracking

Land Rover’s theft problems subside as stolen car numbers hit three-year low

A package of measures implemented by Jaguar Land Rover to address the issue of its cars being stolen seems to be doing the trick
News
8 Nov 2024
Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2024, 2025 and beyond
Best new cars coming soon - header image

Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2024, 2025 and beyond

These are the biggest and most important new cars headed our way, from brands including Audi, BMW, Dacia, Ferrari, Ford, Skoda and more
Best cars & vans
6 Nov 2024
The scariest cars we've ever driven
Scariest cars we've ever driven - header image

The scariest cars we've ever driven

The Auto Express team have cast their minds back to the scariest cars they’ve had to endure
Best cars & vans
31 Oct 2024
JLR is moving in the opposite direction to VW-Audi and Hyundai-Kia, and that’s not a good thing
Opinion - JLR

JLR is moving in the opposite direction to VW-Audi and Hyundai-Kia, and that’s not a good thing

Instead of following the successful business model adopted by VW-Audi, Toyota-Lexus and Hyundai-Kia, Mike Rutherford thinks JLR is moving in the oppos…
Opinion
4 Aug 2024

Most Popular

Driver whose towbar voided his insurance wins payout
Towbar

Driver whose towbar voided his insurance wins payout

Allianz tells Auto Express it was ‘right in principle’, but has agreed to cover the claim in full
News
20 Dec 2024
Car Deal of the Day: Vauxhall Grandland is simply stunning value at £145 a month
Vauxhall Grandland - main image

Car Deal of the Day: Vauxhall Grandland is simply stunning value at £145 a month

The outgoing Vauxhall Grandland is fine transport for all the family. It’s our Deal of the Day for 18 December
News
18 Dec 2024
Kia Sportage alternatives: cars you could buy instead of this family favourite
Kia Sportage alternatives - header image

Kia Sportage alternatives: cars you could buy instead of this family favourite

Kia’s multi-award winning SUV is the apple of plenty of families’ eyes, but it might not be for everyone. We’ve searched high and low to find some tal…
Features
21 Dec 2024