VELAR TO BE REBORN AS RAKISH CROSSOVER

Sleek mid-sized Range Rover will be unveiled this year as an EV, with a hybrid to follow

- FELIX PAGE

Range Rover is poised to unwrap one of its most crucial models in years as it looks to take on the BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Volvo EX60 with a sleek new electric SUV that will replace the Velar - and the brand has confirmed a combustion version will follow.

The upcoming crossover is at an advanced stage of testing and is tipped for a debut within the next six months. It will arrive as part of a wave of models that will end a long period of new-product drought for JLR, which has not launched an all-new model since the Range Rover Sport in 2022.

The company's focus for now is on the long-awaited Range Rover Electric and Jaguar Type 01 flagships, both of which will be revealed by the end of the year. JLR will then move to introduce more volume-oriented electric models, including the rakish new iX3-rivalling crossover and a chunky entry-level 4x4 known as Defender Sport.

They will be the first models based on JLR's new EMA platform, which had been planned as an electric-only architecture. However, it has since been confirmed that it will also be compatible with hybrid powertrains as part of an effort to offer more choice across the JLR portfolio.

The company said last week that while future Jaguars will be all-electric and the full-size Range Rover models will offer the choice of ICE and electric power, the first EMA car - confirmed as the smaller Range Rover crossover - "is planned to provide flexibility in the future through a full hybrid electric vehicle propulsion offering".

The hybrid powertrain is said to be a “unique new addition to JLR’s propulsion portfolio”, suggesting it will be unrelated to the ICE powerplants it currently offers across its range.