- Range Rover is turning the Velar into a tall electric fastback.
- The new model will be electric only and the first to be built on the new 800-volt EVA platform.
- The Range Rover will unveil the Velar EV next spring, but we can expect to see a concept before then.
Range Rover is going to completely change the Velar for its next generation, expected to be revealed next spring. Not only is it ditching combustion power in favor of electrons, but it’s also switching body styles from SUV to a lower-slung fastback, targeting vehicles like the Porsche Macan EV and Taycan Cross Turismo.
Autocar reports that the new electric Velar will be similar to the so-called “Road Rover,” which was intended to be the most tarmac-focused product to ever wear a Range Rover badge. It was axed before seeing a production line, but the new Velar reportedly follows its philosophy as a vehicle designed for on-road use.
With one year to go before its unveiling, design and engineering work on the Velar EV should be mostly finished. There have already been a couple of mule/prototype sightings, and the vehicle is clearly much lower to the ground than any previous Range Rover or Land Rover product, and it has a big fake-looking box covering the rear end, which strongly indicates that it will have a coupe-like fastback rear end, similar to the Alpine A390 or a Porsche Cayenne Coupe.
The shift from a traditional SUV body to something we don’t yet have a name for, but which we could call a tall, posh fastback, comes as the competition between mid-tier premium electric crossovers intensifies. The former segment leader, the Tesla Model Y, is losing ground to newcomers like the very talented but expensive Porsche Macan EV or the Zeekr 7X, and there’s no clear buyer favorite yet.
Under the new Velar EV’s car-like body will sit Jaguar-Land Rover’s 800-volt EVA platform with 350 kW charging, which will also underpin the next-generation Evoque and a new Defender Sport model that will serve as a replacement for the Discovery Sport, currently Land Rover’s smallest offering. The first Range Rover pure EV will be the electric version of the L460 fifth-generation model, which is set to officially debut this year, followed by the electric Velar early next year.
Next will come the production version of Jaguar’s Porsche Taycan sedan-rivaling super GT EV, whose controversial design and ad campaign stirred many mixed reactions. It will be toned down for production and grow an extra pair of doors, and it will serve as the low-to-the-ground car alternative to the new Velar EV, whose body is somewhere between regular cars and crossovers.
This isn’t JLR’s first electric vehicle that was neither a car nor a crossover. The Jaguar I-Pace also straddled the line between traditional body styles, and it was a great early EV that proved fairly successful. Autonomous ride-hailing company Waymo was planning to buy 20,000 of them for its robotaxi fleet, and even if it never came close to reaching that number, i-Pace EVs still make up a large proportion of its fleet to this day and will be kept in service for the foreseeable future.
Whether the remixed and electrified Velar will prove successful is difficult to predict, especially given the wild fluctuations in the EV market. The combustion Velar is a great-looking Range Rover that drives really well and serves as an intermediate model between the Evoque and the manufacturer’s largest offerings. However, it’s not selling particularly well, so Range Rover may even choose to abandon the nameplate and call the new model something else.
It’s too early to know key details like battery size, range and price, but we estimate that it will have around 100 kilowatt-hours, offer around 372 miles (600 km) of WLTP range, and have a starting price of over €70,000 (almost $80,000). We will also likely see a concept before the model is fully revealed.