Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc’s first fully electric Range Rover will start at US$208,420 (RM841,080) putting the luxury SUV firmly into six-figure territory as the automaker tests wealthy buyers’ appetite for a battery-powered Range Rover.
Orders are now open for the Range Rover Electric, which carries a price almost US$68,000 higher than the standard combustion-engine version. The model can travel up to 372 miles (599 kilometres) on a single charge under testing conditions and charge from 10% to 80% in 22 minutes.
The price puts it in the same territory as the electric Mercedes G 580 and not far from ultra-luxury combustion models such as Bentley’s Bentayga. Its range, however, is not the best among electric SUVs, with BMW’s iX3 capable of travelling up to 500 miles on a single charge under testing conditions.
The Range Rover Electric is entering a luxury EV market where demand remains uneven, while cheaper Chinese SUVs are gaining ground in markets such as the UK. Chery Automobile’s Jaecoo 7 has rapidly grown in popularity there, even earning the nickname “Temu Range Rover” for its lower-priced take on the British SUV.
For JLR, the electric model also provides production flexibility as it is being built alongside combustion and hybrid Range Rovers at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands.
Around 9,000 factory workers in Solihull have been trained for electric vehicle production, while another 1,500 workers across the West Midlands have also received training. Battery packs and electric-drive units are being produced at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton.
The Range Rover Electric can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in as little as 4.3 seconds, while 50 to 75 mph takes as little as 2.7 seconds.
The launch comes as JLR contends with weaker demand in China, higher US tariffs and the fallout from last year’s cyberattack that forced its plants to shut for weeks.
Under new chief executive P B Balaji, JLR is putting greater emphasis on the US market while expanding its electrified line-up, including a new fully electric Jaguar model due to be unveiled later this year.
