The launch of the electric Defender is expected to be delayed by several years

Image: Land Rover (illustrative)

Jaguar Land Rover is planning to adjust its product strategy, which according to a media report will result in a delay to the redesign of the Defender. The development of the new SUV is set to be delayed by two years, as well as the launch of a fully electric version.

This decision comes at a time when demand for fully electric luxury vehicles is weak. Additional factors include U.S. tariffs and a sluggish Chinese luxury market. This forces Land Rover to adjust its strategy. The current Defender was introduced in 2019 and is one of the oldest models from this manufacturer, which is part of the Indian Tata Group as a brand under JLR (Jaguar Land Rover).

According to reports in The Times, the successor is expected to arrive only in the early 2030s. JLR declined to comment on the report to Automotive News. However, the British manufacturer stated in a statement that there remains strong global demand for the Defender. Company data shows that the Defender accounted for one-third of all JLR sales recently and is the best-selling model in its portfolio, even ahead of the Range Rover Sport.

The current Defender is based on JLR’s D7X platform, which the company says cannot support a purely electric powertrain. When the next Defender will arrive and which platform it will use have not been revealed yet. Meanwhile, JLR is developing a smaller Defender with electric and hybrid powertrains using the new Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA).

The EMA is also used for the all-electric Range Rover GT. The platform was originally designed as a pure electric vehicle base but now also supports full hybrids. The smaller Defender is among the upcoming models following the all-electric Range Rover GT and Jaguar Type 01, as well as corresponding versions of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.

Also interesting

About the author

Thomas Langenbucher is an expert in electromobility with professional experience in the automotive industry and finance sector. Since 2011, he has been covering electric vehicles, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions for ecomento.de. Learn more.

Reader interactions