Earlier details of the EMA programme suggested it was being engineered to host a range-extender system that used a small petrol engine as a generator for a traction battery but it remains to be seen if JLR deems this a viable option.
While an exact launch date for the new Velar has not been officially confirmed, JLR CEO Adrian Mardell previously said the first EMA-based car is likely to arrive in around a year’s time.
“We’ll first have MLA BEV with the Range Rover EV later [in 2025]. Then it’s the first vehicle off EMA, which will probably be springtime in 2026. Jaguar [the production version of the super-GT concept] will be after that,” said Mardell.
Velar kicks off reshuffle of Range Rover line-up
The Velar’s arrival will form part of the most significant recalibration of the Range Rover brand in its 55-year history.
Arriving first will be the Range Rover Electric, which is understood to be scheduled for a debut before the end of the year. It will be based on the same versatile MLA platform as the ICE car, which was engineered from the off to accommodate an electric battery and motors. This will also be the case with the Range Rover Sport Electric, which is expected to be revealed soon after. The pair will share the Solihull production line with their combustion siblings.
These will be key models for the marque as its EV transition gathers pace. The pair, alongside the Defender, which is expected to gain an electric variant too, are JLR’s most profitable and popular models globally and made up more than half of JLR’s total output in 2024.
With some of the brand’s key markets – notably the UK, the European Union and several US states – scrapping the sale of new combustion cars in a decade’s time, it is crucial that JLR begins to transition the Range Rover brand from large-capacity petrol and diesel engines to EV power.
To ease that shift, it is targeting performance parity with today’s models in key areas. The Range Rover Electric, for example, will offer performance “comparable” to that of existing V8 models, said JLR, which top out with the rapid 626bhp Sport SV.