The first fully-electric model from JLR’s Range Rover marque has finally launched, with order books open now and first customer deliveries set to start from next year. It’s a major milestone for the brand, becoming the first time a Range Rover has been offered in fully-electric form.
The Range Rover Electric will be sold in markets around the world, and UK pricing has already been confirmed, with prices set to start from £154,070. (For context, the base price for a combustion-powered Range Rover in the UK currently stands at £107,530). With that pricing, it’ll be one of the most expensive electric SUVs on the market, far exceeding the price of models such as the Volvo EX90 and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV.
The model could be of particular attraction to loyal Range Rover customers who have been waiting to make the switch to an EV without losing the brand, and so the EV’s near-identical exterior appearance to the current petrol and diesel Range Rover is no coincidence. Soon, it won’t be the only ultra-expensive electric SUV on the market though, with Bentley set to reveal its similarly-luxurious Torcal electric SUV this year.
The electric powertrain setup in the new Range Rover Electric delivers 542 horsepower and 850 Newton-meters of torque, which makes it the torquiest Range Rover ever put into production. Battery-wise, all specifications will be powered by a 118.5kWh lithium-ion pack, translating to a WLTP-rated range of 372 miles. Public recharging speeds of up to 350kW will be supported, allowing 220 kilometres of range to be added in as little as 10 minutes.
This model has been a long time coming, but it seems JLR has used this extra time well, putting the model through its paces to prove it can perform anywhere. It’s already covered over 1.5 million kilometres of testing, spanning virtual simulations and real-world conditions from sub-zero arctic temperatures to scorching desert heat.
JLR’s Solihull factory is producing the new electric Range Rover, and is the first fully-electric vehicle to be produced at the facility (JLR’s first EV, the Jaguar I-PACE, had production outsourced to Magna Steyr in Austria).
