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Lunaz Design, a firm that restores and electrifies classic cars using proprietary powertrain technology has commenced production of two different all-electric conversions of classic Range Rovers. According to the company, it is expanding its staff to meet the demand of the electrified Range Rovers, which now account for nearly 50% of its EV production.

Lunaz Design is an electric conversion specialist founded in 2018 and headquartered in Silverstone, England. This is also where the company engineers and manufactures its own electric powertrain technology that was purposefully designed with the modularity to be implemented across a wide range of classic cars, reviving them for an all-electric age.

Its current lineup of electric conversions, in addition to the aforementioned Range Rovers, includes the Aston Martin DB6, Jaguar XK, and an all-electric Rolls-Royce Phantom. These conversions begin with a full restoration from the ground up, reconfiguring each combustion vehicle’s chassis to support electrification while still maintaining ideal weight distribution and suspension to “ensure technical perfection,” as managing director Jon Hilton puts it.

Inside each converted EV, Lunaz’s in-house design team upcycles and restores the vehicle’s textiles and trim while integrating modern-day conveniences like satellite telecommunications, Wi-Fi, infotainment, and navigation.

In 2021, Lunaz announced it would be offering electric versions of the classic Range Rovers and began taking orders. Initial demand was so tremendous that commissions of these conversions now make up 45% of the company’s production schedule. Today, the company has announced that electric Range Rover production is now underway overseas, with the help of a bunch of new employees.

  • electric range rover
  • electric range rover

Lunaz hires 250 people to help build Electric Range Rovers

The company shared news of its newly expanded workforce alongside the electric Range Rover production announcement in a press release today, sharing design details of both available versions: the “Town” (above) and the “Country” (below).

Lunaz explains that the Town builds of the electric Range Rovers focus on traditional rear seats and driver comfort, while the Country builds are engineered for better off-road capabilities and can be equipped with features like rear bench seats. Orders are balanced 70/30 respectively and both come available in a “Safari model.” Lunaz CEO David Lorenz spoke to the start of electric conversions of the Range Rovers and the company’s expanded staff to meet booming EV demand:

The dramatic surge in demand for clean-air classic Range Rovers is significant proof of concept for Lunaz Design. The market has confirmed that re-engineering, electrifying and upcycling the most significant cars in the world will secure their relevance for generations to come. To satisfy this demand, we have recruited 250 experts to join us at Lunaz headquarters in Silvertsone, England – the largest upcycling campus in the world. With our Range Rovers by Lunaz, and through significant vehicles such as the extraordinary Town and Country commissions, we will continue to set a new benchmark of excellence in classic car design, engineering and craftsmanship as well as the discipline and culture of upcycling.

  • electric range rover
  • electric range rover

After the combustion components are removed from each of the classic Range Rover’s chassis, Lunaz will implement an AWD electric powertrain that can deliver about 360 bhp and 450 lb-ft of torque. According to its designers, that’s about 177% more power than the original V8 engine.

Lunaz Design states that each electric conversion of the Range Rover takes 30,000 hours to complete, part of the reason why each build has a starting price of £245,000 ($285,600). The company states it is working on acquiring a new group of classic Range Rovers to convert to electric powertrains and expects to begin first customers deliveries in Q2 of 2023.

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Tesla now offers discounted financing on Cybertruck as the truck turns out to be a flop

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Tesla now offers discounted financing on Cybertruck as the truck turns out to be a flop

Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.

Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.

However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.

The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.

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The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.

Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.

We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.

For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.

Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:

Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:

1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers

WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.

While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.

We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.

Electrek’s Take

It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.

Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?

I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.

Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.

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Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000

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Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just ,000

Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.

Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X

The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.

Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).

After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).

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The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).

Toyota-cheapest-EV-China-bZ3X
Toyota launches its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X (Source: GAC-Toyota)

For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.

Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.

Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.

Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.

GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”

At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.

What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.

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New cars from Volvo, VW, Cadillac, and more – plus 0% on Model 3 as Tesla sales fall

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New cars from Volvo, VW, Cadillac, and more – plus 0% on Model 3 as Tesla sales fall

It’s been a big day for big reveals with the all-new Volvo ES90, a new compact electric city car from Volkswagen, plus a pair of new, over-the-top EVs from General Motors that perfectly exemplify American excess. All this and maybe the dawn of the long-awaited “Tesla Killer” on today’s revealing episode of Quick Charge!

GM is practically daring the competition to build a bigger, badder EV with a new, bigger $133,000 Cadillac Escalade and 1,100 hp off-road special in the form of the new Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2. Finally, you guys are never happy … try to enjoy this episode, anyway!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

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