It may be gorgeous to look at and plush to sit in, but the Range Rover Velar hasn't exactly been the sales success JLR had hoped it would be. The British marque hopes to reinvent the second generation for the electric era, where it will wade into battle alongside fully electric versions of the smaller Evoque and Discovery Sport and bigger Range Rover.
According to Autocar, the Velar EV will be underpinned by the Electric Modular Architecture (EMA), which is likely to be tailored for on-road use, which is where Velars and smaller Land Rovers spend most of their time.
The Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), which is currently used by the Range Rover Sport, for example, will be used for future electric versions of the full-size Range Rover and the Discovery.
According to JLR, the EMA platform will be designed around the batteries, which will be housed within the floor. Vehicles underpinned by this will boast 800-volt architecture that allows for rapid charging capabilities. If the electric Velar can charge at a rate of 350 kilowatts, it would match upcoming rivals from Porsche.
The forthcoming Macan EV will be capable of charging from 5%-80% in just 25 minutes, thanks to the onboard 800V technology. It's a similar story to the Q6 e-tron, rumored to debut before the end of the year. Like its Porsche-badged sibling, the Audi is reportedly capable of charging at speeds of up to 350 kW.
The battery-powered Velar should also be an efficient EV, thanks to the EMA-specific electric motors. JLR claims these vehicles will cover between 4 and 4.5 miles per kWh (nearly double what the Jaguar I-Pace offers in the real world).
Hopefully, JLR's latest crop of medium-sized electric SUVs will arrive with impressive range figures. If the brand can match the range estimates of the existing ICE-powered vehicles, the automaker will be on to a winner.
Expect the new Velar to draw styling inspiration from the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport but still retain an element of uniqueness, much like the current model. The current model was only facelifted this year, so we can expect it to stick around until 2025. Autocar reports that test mules of the electric replacement will hit the roads in the coming months.
This push for electrification forms part of a new strategy that will see JLR drop the Land Rover brand name, much to the chagrin of traditionalists. Instead, Range Rover, Discovery, Defender, and Jaguar will serve as four distinct brands under the JLR umbrella.
With no space for a grumbling V8 engine, it will be interesting to see how JLR differentiates the high-powered Special Vehicle Operations models in the EV era. Perhaps future performance-oriented Range Rover models will focus on handling and dynamics as opposed to neck-snapping acceleration.
What we do know for sure is that the electric Velar will continue to offer the quintessential Range Rover characteristics, such as luxury, off-road capability, and refinement. It may not be as capable as larger RR models when it comes to venturing off the beaten path, but we're guessing the Velar EV will surpass all of its external rivals off-road.
The electric Velar will reportedly touch down in 2025 alongside a battery-powered version of the Defender. Whether the Land Rover faithful will embrace these vehicles remains to be seen, but there's no denying that an electric Range Rover will be a seriously desirable vehicle when it arrives.
