2024 Evoque, Discovery Sport to lead new-era Land Rover EV line-up

The upshot is that both are expected to be based on the EMA, so it’s possible that JLR’s plant in Slovakia could also receive an EMA production line to enable it to build the new generation of vehicles for the European Union market.

Autocar also understands the EMA-based models will make a tangible move upmarket. According to details revealed to investors, JLR says its future models – starting with the MLA-based Range Rover next year – will be pitched firmly in the most profitable market sectors.

Specifically, this is likely to mean that the new Discovery Sport and Evoque will be given higher entry pricing, partly due to the extra development and construction costs of a substantially electrified platform. Expect showroom prices in late 2024 to kick off at close to £40,000, and for both the SUV models to have an EV range of at least 60 miles.

By 2030, JLR says it expects EMA-based vehicles to account for nearly 50% of all its sales (equivalent to 340,000 cars) and MLA-based vehicles around 40%. Jaguar EVs are pencilled in for a modest 12%.

In effect, the EMA is a native EV platform that can house either a large floor-mounted battery pack or a smaller hybrid-sized battery but with the addition of a small range-extending internal combustion engine (ICE) “engineered with lean-burn technology”.

The JLR investors’ briefing says the layout means being able to rationalise “multiple internal combustion engines to one simplified electrified compact ICE, eliminating diesel and costly after-treatment systems”. This all points to JLR’s in-house ICE production being significantly rationalised.

Overall, it is a very similar solution to the platform used for the Mazda MX-30, although the range-extender version of the Mazda will have a small rotary engine as a powerplant.

The use of electric motors to power each axle allows the elimination of conventional mechanical transmissions, differentials, driveshafts and propshafts. Aside from the simplicity of the layout and reduction in potential drivetrain problems, the use of electric motors will be a boon for off-road performance.

This is because torque and power can be finely metered to each wheel individually, reducing slip and allowing drive to be directed to the wheels with most grip in a much quicker and controllable way than electromechanical systems can achieve. Similar improvements in on-road handling and ride – such as eliminating understeer – are possible for the same reasons.

According to JLR’s internal briefing notes, the EMA is “engineered around the battery, the highest-value component”. The briefing also says the EMA is engineered to be simple and will accommodate batteries of differing chemistry. Its flat floor “will allow maximum interior space”, a characteristic that will facilitate the survival of the seven-seat Discovery Sport.

All-wheel drive will be delivered by new JLR-designed 800V-capable electric drive units that, the company says, will be the “most torque dense in class”. JLR engineers also say the new motors are “92% efficient”, offering as much as 4-4.5 miles of travel per kWh of electricity consumed.

Equally important will be the introduction of a new electrical architecture, which is likely to make its debut on the EMA and is described as an “in-house-engineered, state-of-the-art, domain-based Electrical Vehicle Architecture”. JLR says it has an ‘ethernet backbone’ that enables the “consolidation and reduction of the number of ECUs”.

According to JLR documents, the new Evoque and Discovery Sport will be equipped with level two, level two-plus and level four autonomous functionality and will be capable of communicating with other cars and infrastructure, such as traffic control networks. In addition, so-called “off-board data management” will allow for “predictive maintenance and prognostics” on both cars.

Like many other car makers, JLR is hoping it can open up new revenue opportunities through connectivity. The new electrical system will allow over-the-air updates of software and firmware, offer a new-generation JLR app, enable new payment systems and allow JLR to offer customers “curated digital media and tailored brand experiences”.

In terms of the manufacturer’s evolving powertrain strategy, hydrogen propulsion remains on the future technology map. Officially, JLR says it’s “too early” to say what will happen with its existing fuel cell research programme, known as Project Zeus.

However, JLR’s internal briefing suggests that fuel cells could be “leveraged in the future” as rangeextending hardware for an “advanced electric propulsion” powertrain. It’s a statement that suggests Land Rover is adopting range-extending EV technology as a long-term bet.

Second platform to underpin bigger models