The next-generation Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque will not offer internal combustion or mild hybrid motors, one of the biggest confirmed transition points in Land Rover’s electric future. The only powertrain options in Land Rover's smallest models will be full-hybrid or electric options.
The new vehicles will be built on the coming Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) platform, which will effectively replace Land Rover’s transverse engine platform which powers these two models currently. This platform is designed to be “battery electric vehicle (BEV) native,” unlike the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform that will underpin larger Land Rover models. MLA will be designed to accept all types of powertrains, from V8 motors to full-electric powerplants. EMA will be battery-focused, with the structure of the bodyshell entirely built around the underfloor battery tray.
The electric drive units (EDUs) powering the new JLR EVs are going to be the “most torque dense” in their class, with efficiency around 4 to 4.5 miles per kilowatt-hour. That provides about a 200 mile range with a 50 kWh battery (the smaller end of current mainstream EVs) and up to 450 miles with a 100kWh battery (a higher-end current standard).
The new platform is still a bit of a way off – the second-generation Evoque and Discovery Sport only came out last year and has until the middle of the decade until it’s time for replacement.
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