An all-electric Range Rover Sport EV is coming to rival Porsche’s best-selling Cayenne
An all-electric version of the popular Range Rover Sport is set to debut later this year. The Range Rover Sport EV will look very much like its gas-powered predecessor as a legitimate rival to Porsche’s best-selling Cayenne SUV.
Range Rover preps first all-electric SUV
If you’re shopping for a high-end SUV, Range Rover and Porsche are two of the top names that often come to mind.
Coming off its highest quarterly profit since 2017 in Q4, Jaguar Land Rover said it continues to see strong demand for its premium models. JLR’s Range Rover brand achieved record quarterly wholesale figures.
The highest-spec Range Rover SV, with an average price of $260,000 (£202,000), has already surpassed last year’s sales through the first three months of 2024 (3,637 vs 1,909).
Meanwhile, the Range Rover brand is preparing to launch its first all-electric vehicle. The company said the first Range Rover EV is “generating strong interest,” with over 16,000 potential buyers on the waitlist.
The “most refined Range Rover ever created,” according to JLR, is hitting the streets for testing ahead of the electric SUV’s official debut later this year.
JLR said last month that electric Range Rover prototypes are being tested on the road, while a medium-size SUV prototype is in development.
Range Rover Sport EV set to debut this year
In addition to the electric SUV, a smaller Range Rover Sport EV is expected to be revealed later this year.
Although JLR’s initial plans, revealed in 2021, called for six all-electric models across the Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender brands by 2026, the company recently pushed back its target.
After reporting Q3 2023 earnings, the company said it aimed to launch four EVs over the next two years. CEO Adrian Mardell admitted, “We are a little bit slower than we said three years ago.”
Madell recently told reporters that the delay is to ensure new EVs hit the market without any hiccups.
“We talked about six Land Rovers by 2026. The reality is we’re likely to have six JLR products by 2026,” Mardell explained.
The six EVs include the electric Range Rover and Sport EV versions. Both will be based on JLR’s MLA platform, which powers the current gas-powered models.
Two smaller electric SUVs are due out, expected to be EV versions of the Range Rover Evoque and Velar models. The other two EVs due out by 2026 will be Jaguar. JLR confirmed the transformation at its plants is “on pace” for EV production.
The electric Range Rover and Sport EV models will be built at its Solihull, UK, plant, where a new $77,000 (£60 million) EV underbody line is being installed.
JLR’s new body shop in Halewood is “near completion” for the upcoming smaller EVs built on the EMA platform.
The Defender Sport is set for an electric replacement, while a new mini Defender EV is also expected to launch over the next few years.
Range Rover’s upcoming EV features new active road noise cancellation tech for an upgraded cabin experience that’s nearly silent. It will also include towing, wading, and all-terrain features that will “surpass any other luxury electric SUV.”
Range Rover said its first all-electric SUV will be able to plow through up to 850 mm (33.5″) of water. That tops the massive GMC Hummer EV at 32″.
Source: Autocar, Jaguar Land Rover
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Environment
Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]
![Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/Beta-test-flight-eCTOL-mountains.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
All-electric aircraft developer BETA Technologies has shared another important milestone in bringing its first two vessels to market. Most recently, BETA’s founder, CEO, and test pilot Kyle Clark took the production version of its ALIA eCTOL up for its first flight, as seen in the video below.
BETA Technologies is a fully integrated electric aircraft and systems developer based in Vermont. Three years ago, it debuted its first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the ALIA–250. That BETA vessel has since been renamed the ALIA VTOL and completed a piloted test flight transitioning mid-air this past April.
In addition to the ALIA VTOL, BETA has also been developing an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) plane called the ALIA CTOL. To date, it has flown tens of thousands of test miles en route to evaluation flights for FAA certification. That aircraft is targeting full approval for commercial operations by 2025.
As BETA moves closer to bringing the ALIA CTOL to the public, it has completed its first bonafide production build in South Burlington. Following a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), BETA has successfully taken its production-ready ALIA CTOL up for a test flight, piloted by its founder and CEO.
Watch BETA’s founder complete a CTOL test flight
BETA Technologies shared details of its first successful production CTOL test flight today alongside the images above and the full video below.
Once the production-intent build of the ALIA CTOL was complete, the FAA inspected the aircraft for safety and compliance before granting BETA a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training, signing-off approval for test flights.
On November 13, BETA CEO, founder, and test pilot Kyle Clark conducted the first test flight of the ALIA CTOL aircraft, which lasted nearly an hour. The test included a conventional runway takeoff before the aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet.
While in the air, Clark tested the aircraft’s handling qualities, stability, control test points, and initial airspeed expansion before completing several approaches ahead of a normal landing. Clark spoke following the successful flight:
This start of our production CX300 flight test campaign is a result of years of hard work and focus on studying customer requirements, hard engineering, manufacturing, production, quality and test. It represents a significant milestone for BETA, and is the beginning of an exciting new phase for the business. With this, we’re one step closer to putting this technology into the hands of our customers.
We learned a lot from this first production build. We weren’t just building an aircraft company, we were building and refining a system to build high quality aircraft efficiently. This first build allowed the team to collect data and insight on manufacturing labor, tooling design, processes, yields and sequences, all of which are being used to refine our production systems.
With its production test flight campaign now underway, BETA says it will continue testing the ALIA CTOL aircraft for the standard 50 hours required before qualifying for a Market Survey and Crew Training certificate. That next certificate will enable BETA to fly outside of Burlington and Plattsburgh and continue training additional pilots on the aircraft.
The company shared it will also continue production of additional aircraft, including ALIA CTOL and ALIA VTOL configurations, the latter of which was recently teased in October. You can view footage of BETA’s CTOL flight below.
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Crude oil futures rose slightly on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark trading around $69 per barrel, though the market outlook remains bearish.
Global crude supplies are expected to outstrip demand by more than 1 million barrels per day next year led by robust growth in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly market report.
Here are today’s energy prices by 8:07 a.m. ET:
- West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.92 per barrel, up 49 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down more than 3%.
- Brent January contract: $72.78 per barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, the global benchmark is down more than 5%.
- RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.9711 per gallon, up 0.3%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen nearly 6%.
- Natural Gas December contract: $2.966 per thousand cubic feet, down 0.6%. Year to date, gas has gained nearly 18%.
UBS slashed its price forecast for global benchmark Brent to $80 per barrel from $87 previously on weakening demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer.
OPEC on Tuesday cut its demand growth forecast for the fourth month in a row earlier this week.
U.S. crude oil has shed about 4% and Brent is down 3.5% since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential as the dollar has surged. A stronger U.S. dollar can depress oil demand among buyers that hold other currencies.
Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.
Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.
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Read more: All my favorite EVs, racecars, and robots from Electrify Expo Austin.
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