Range Rover is about to do something strange. They’re killing the Velar.
Its replacement isn’t just a smaller SUV. It’s a sleek, electric crossover that looks almost like a sedan. A ‘saloon’ crossover, if you’re sticking to the British terms. And it’s not alone. A combustion engine version follows. Yes, actually.
Range Rover is poised to take on the iX3, the GLC, and the EX60 with a design that breaks its own mold.
Testing is far along. The debut is tipped for within six months.
Jaguar Land Rover hasn’t launched an all-new model since 2022’s Range Rover Sport. The drought is ending.
First comes the heavy artillery: the flagship Range Rover Electric. Then the Jaguar Type 01. Both reveal themselves by year-end.
Then the volume sellers arrive.
This new crossover targets the BMW iX3. It’s rakish. Fast. Electric first. Then hybrid.
Then the Defender Sport.
Chunky entry-level 4×4. Electric or hybrid.
These two cars— the crossover and the Sport—run on the new EMA platform. Originally? EMA was electric only. Pure EV.
Plans changed.
The first EMA car “is planned to provide flexibility in future through a full hybrid offering.”
JLR admits the truth. Global demand for combustion engines hasn’t died. It never did. So EMA became multi-fuel. Hybrid compatible.
It’s a unique new powertrain for them. Unrelated to their current gas engines. A dedicated hybrid system.
A return to old plans. The range-extender idea from the early days might still surface. Nobody knows yet.
So, why make a car that looks like a sedan in an SUV market?
Maybe they think aerodynamics beats bulk. Maybe they think style sells more than cargo space.
The Velar is gone. In its place sits a slippery, ambiguous shape.
It’s an odd move.
I suppose we’ll see if people want to sit lower to the ground while keeping the ladder height of an off-roader.
The Defender Sport is already coming. But this electric saloon-crossover? It feels like a test. A test of whether luxury buyers will abandon the traditional box for a smoother silhouette.
We wait. Six months, roughly.
