Range Rover unveils first fully electric model after year-long delay

Range Rover has unveiled its first fully electric model, named the Range Rover Electric, after a year-long delay to its planned launch. The vehicle is being built at Jaguar Land Rover's manufacturing plant in Solihull, with the company describing the launch as a major shift in its electrification programme, backed by large-scale upgrades across its West Midlands sites.

The launch comes as the Coventry-based carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, faces falling profits, supply chain disruption and restructuring following a cyber attack last year. JLR reported profits dropping to £66m in the first quarter after a fire at a key Norwegian supplier. The company also confirmed that fewer than 300 roles will go as part of restructuring, less than a year after a cyber attack halted production for more than a month.

Despite these challenges, JLR said it had up-skilled 10,500 workers for electric production. The company said the launch was being supported by new battery and electric drive unit production lines, as well as training around 9,000 employees in Solihull for electrification and a further 1,500 trained across the region.

JLR's Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton is now producing battery packs and electric drive units alongside internal combustion engines.

Martin Limpert, managing director of Range Rover, called the new model the result of a decade of "considered engineering" and technological development, setting a new benchmark for the original luxury SUV. He said the company took its testing and development programmes "even further than originally intended" to ensure the vehicle is "genuinely the most accomplished Range Rover ever."

Matt Becker, JLR's vehicle engineering director, said the defining characteristic of the Range Rover Electric is its ability to perform across every surface, with effortless comfort and refinement, adding that the team "worked tirelessly" to ensure it retains those qualities.

The Range Rover Electric underwent testing equivalent to 38 trips around the world, more than any other Range Rover, and can reach 60mph in 4.3 seconds. The vehicle starts at £154,070.

At the time of its financial results, the firm said new product launches would leave "JLR in good shape" whilst acknowledging the continuing geopolitical, inflationary and regulatory challenges the industry faces.