•Will be smaller than the Defender 110
•Based on electric EMA platform
Land Rover plans to expand its SUV line with a ‘Baby Defender’ by 2027. This was announced by Adrian Mardell, CEO, JLR, back in 2023. The vehicle is expected to be launched in the market as the Defender Sport or the Defender 80.
After much rumour and speculation, the rugged 4×4 is set to become Land Rover's fourth model line, and will be based on the company's new EMA electric vehicle platform. The decision to add a compact model to the Defender family was announced during JLR's investor conference in 2023. This demonstrates the company's ambition to split the core Jaguar, Discovery, Range Rover, and Defender brands into four distinct product lines.
Land Rover's electric EMA platform will form the basis for the ‘Baby Defender’ and will also be used by the next generation Range Rover Evoque, Velar, and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The new variant is expected to be smaller than the current Defender “L663”, which is based on the D7 platform. With an expected length of around 4.6 metres, a width of 2 metres, and a height of under 1.8 metres, the baby Defender could be more compact and fit well into the mid-size SUV category.
Utilising the EMA platform signals, Land Rover's increased focus on electrified models to remain competitive in the growing electric vehicle market. Although electric, it will still retain the Defender's rugged and adventurous heritage.
