Range Rover Electric revealed: 600km range, 900mm wading, NZ orders open

Range Rover has revealed its first electric model, with order books open in New Zealand for a car that pairs two 260kW motors with a 118.5kWh battery for up to 600km of WLTP range.

The Range Rover Electric produces up to 405kW and 850Nm, more torque than any Range Rover before it, and reaches 100km/h in 4.5 seconds. JLR quotes a real-world range of up to 535km alongside the WLTP figure. New Zealand pricing has not been announced.

The usable 118.5kWh pack is a double-stacked unit of 344 prismatic cells running an 800-volt architecture with split charging, which lets the two halves of the battery charge in parallel on 400-volt hardware. On a 350kW charger, JLR claims 10 to 80% in 22 minutes, or 220km of range added in 10 minutes.

Range Rover first, electric second

The car is built on the same architecture as the petrol, diesel, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid Range Rovers, and JLR says the design changes are limited to an aerodynamically optimised grille, wheels and a tailored underbody. All versions are built at Solihull, with batteries and drive units from JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton.

Off-road capability is carried over, including 900mm of wading depth, and the electric driveline adds control systems the combustion cars cannot match. Integrated Traction Management controls motor speed within 50 milliseconds, which JLR says manages slip up to 100 times faster than a combustion equivalent, while Intelligent Driveline Dynamics shifts rear torque anywhere between 100% and zero. Single-pedal mode allows pull-away on 33-degree slopes and rolling climbs of up to 45 degrees, with twin-chamber air suspension and a lower centre of gravity for on-road work.

“Range Rover Electric is the result of a decade of considered engineering and technological development, setting a new benchmark for The Original Luxury SUV,” says Range Rover managing director Martin Limpert. “We took our testing and development programmes even further than originally intended to ensure Range Rover Electric is genuinely the most accomplished Range Rover ever.”

Testing and the battery

JLR says the car covered more than 1.5 million kilometres in physical testing, the equivalent of 38 laps of the planet, alongside 250,000 hours of virtual testing, in conditions ranging from minus 40 degrees in Arjeplog, Sweden, to the Dubai desert. More than 300 patent applications have been filed, the most for any single vehicle in the brand’s history.

Among them is ThermAssist, a heat management system JLR credits with up to 40km of additional range and a 40% cut in heating energy use in cold conditions. Each car carries a Battery Digital Twin with more than 900 diagnostic data points, allowing the company to monitor and maintain packs remotely through software updates. The battery and drive system carry an eight-year, 160,000km warranty.

A Range Rover app follows in early 2027, offering remote pre-conditioning, cabin purification, charge status and location.

Ordering

Order books are open in HSE and Autobiography specifications and as an SV, in short and long wheelbase, though long-wheelbase availability is market-specific. Land Rover New Zealand has a dedicated Range Rover Electric page live, with local pricing and delivery timing still to be confirmed. The Range Rover Sport Electric, previewed at Goodwood in July, follows with the same powertrain.