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No hybrid for Evoque

Land Rover's global brand director admits there will be no hybrid version of the upcoming Evoque

No hybrid for Evoque

10th December 2010

Range Rover’s new Evoque baby SUV will not benefit from hybrid technology despite its LRX concept car predecessor featuring electrically driven rear wheels as part of an ultra green 4x4 format.

Instead the hybrid running gear will be applied first to future generation Discoveries and Range Rovers, according to Land Rover’s global brand director John Edwards.

He argued that front-wheel-drive, 2.2-litre diesel versions of the Evoque, due to market late next summer, (2011) will register sub 130g/km CO2 and 50mpg figures, matching earlier LRX hybrid targets.

Edwards said: “Our approach to Evoque is more viable for the company and customers because hybrid technology on a relatively small car would load the price and add weight. That technology is better suited to larger cars, probably from Discovery upwards. Our engineers have done a great job reducing weight on Evoque.”

Evoques in three and five-door forms will cost between £30,000 and £45,000 and Edwards predicted that Range Rover’s 4x4 heritage linked to “convincing arguments from sales staff” will result in less than 20% of buyers opting for front-wheel-drive versions. That is substantially below most rival SUVs or crossovers. He expected between 70% and 80% of buyers to defect from other brands.”

Meanwhile his boss, Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar-Land Rover’s chief executive, said he did not want to “make promises I cannot keep” about possibly turning the Jaguar CX-75 concept supercar into a production reality.

He said: “The CX-75 is a powerful statement of innovative technology and design.  We have been surprised by the intensity of media and public reception. That has encouraged us to look a little bit deeper. But we must think about it very thoroughly and study if and how it could be built. It would involve a particular team and specific resources.”

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1 Comment

Evoque sales

I agree with not needing a Hybrid, a modern diesel is just as economical if not more so in the real world. However I believe most people will buy the evoque for how it looks, not how it drives and I would also suggest the majority of customers will opt for 2 wheel drive, just as they do with its rivals as 99% never go over anything larger than a street kerb and will not venture off road.

By Shaun34 on 11 December, 2010, 12:32pm

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