By soumyaranjanb447 
The ongoing Defender’s platform faces bundling hardships for EV powertrain installation.
The current-age Defender (L663) won’t get an EV powertrain. The Defender EV will be founded on the next-gen SUV, which is probably not going to show up for the rest of this long period, as indicated by our sister distribution, Autocar UK.
- Defender EV is not doable on the current L663 platform
- The current-gen Defender already gets a plug-in hybrid
- The Defender Octa to participate in next year’s Dakar rally
Next-gen Defender likely to get EV powertrain
JLR’s head working official, Lennard Hoornik, affirmed that the British brand has noticed bundling difficulties in the current-gen Defender foundation. Examinations concerning the potential for charge of the ongoing premium SUV have uncovered packaging challenges that might end up being unassailable.
He further said, “Jolting the current ‘L663’ vehicle, on its D7x stage, isn’t what we need. The L663 is splendid at what it does, and we truly do have a [four-cylinder] module cross breed rendition as of now, yet it’s difficult to track down the additional room you want inside that body for batteries, given the hub bundling and the capacity that it needs.”
“We have said that we will make an electric creation model for every one of our new brands [Range Rover, Defender, Discover and Jaguar] and stay focused on that,” proceeded with Hoornik. “In any case, finding the space on the ongoing Defender stage is ridiculously hard. Thus, we should utilize something else.”
Hoornik didn’t affirm whether this implies hanging tight briefly age Defender on another stage or, all things considered, presenting a subsequent Safeguard brand model on a devoted EV stage previously, yet his remarks recommend the previous is more probable.
Defender Octa to participate in Dakar Rally in 2026
Hoornik also expanded on JLR’s motivation behind its 2026 entry into the World Rally-Raid Championship, which includes the famous Dakar Rally, with a team of two Defender Octa SUVs.
“We will learn a lot from simply taking part,” Hoornik said. “But it also gives the Defender Octa a sense of purpose and will improve the product, creating an ecosystem of technology,” he added.