An electric Range Rover Evoque won’t arrive to the line-up before 2025, as the brand focuses its efforts on hybrid technology in the mid-term.
Jaguar Land Rover UK boss Rawdon Glover said that while “there will be a market for a small to medium-sized electric SUV”, it will not arrive before the next generation of its entry-level Range Rover.
The second-generation Evoque launched earlier this year, seven years after the compact SUV was born, and thanks to a new platform, now accommodates mild hybrids as well as a plug-in hybrid.
However, Autocar understands the platform can not accommodate a fully electric drivetrain, and so new architecture would need to be implemented for a third-generation model to house such a set-up.
The PHEV, due in 12 months’ time, will be powered by a 197bhp three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with a 107bhp electric motor.
Glover described the Evoque PHEV as “fleet game-changer” for Land Rover and predicts it will make up more than a third of UK Evoque sales when it arrives early next year.
Land Rover believes plug-in hybrid technology is a sensible middle ground for the Evoque, opposed to a fully electric variant, having seen success with the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrids launched in 2017.
Within the M25, one in two of those models sold are plug-in hybrid.
Broader electric plans for Land Rover are unconfirmed, but an electric version of the flagship Range Rover is expected in under five years.
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