Saket Dinkar : News Editor
- Global unveiling of new Range Rover Evoque in London on 22 November
- £1bn investment to support its production
- Electrification with new architecture to enable hybrid models
- More than £4bn of UK supplier contracts create
New Delhi: Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to the UK car industry deepens today with the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque. Designed, engineered and made in Britain, the next generation of the compact luxury SUV makes its world debut in London following a £1bn investment to support its production.
The new vehicle is a technology revolution. Its compact footprint, at just 4.37m long, will make the new Range Rover Evoque the go-to luxury city SUV. An entirely new architecture delivers Range Rover refinement, with agile on-road handling and world class off-road capability.
The new Evoque joins the Range Rover family with a choice of petrol, diesel and hybrid electric engines, enabled by the all-new Premium Transverse Architecture. From 2020, every new Jaguar and Land Rover will have the option of electrification and, in a first for the compact luxury SUV segment, the Range Rover Evoque will be electrified with a 48 Volt mild hybrid system from launch. It will also be available with a line-up of efficient four cylinder diesel and petrol engines and, 12 months later, a three cylinder plug-in hybrid engine.
The transformational success of the Evoque is undeniable. With its debut in 2010, Jaguar Land Rover brought a completely new type of vehicle to its customers around the world and pioneered the premium compact SUV segment. The segment has continued to grow significantly and its popularity shows no sign of abating.
The original Evoque is one of the company’s greatest sales success stories. With over 217 international accolades since it was launched, it is also the most awarded Land Rover.
Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive, said: “The Range Rover Evoque has been a fundamental driver in Jaguar Land Rover’s global success. Since it first rolled off the Halewood production line, we have exported 80 per cent of all we have made.
“Our commitment to UK production remains firm and the new Evoque benefits from a £1bn investment. With this, we are introducing new technology and Range Rover refinement into the luxury compact SUV segment that the original model created.”
In excess of £4bn contracts have been placed with UK companies to support production of the new Evoque, testament to Jaguar Land Rover’s continued confidence in the competitiveness of its domestic suppliers.
The company’s £1bn investment in the new Evoque covers research, development, design, advanced technology engineering and manufacturing. With its resulting new body style, vehicle architecture, emissions reduction technologies including hybrid-electric, and design features such as deploying door handles, the latest Range Rover is a sophisticated evolution of the original.
Enhancements to develop state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing for the new Evoque at Halewood, Merseyside, comprise a new stamping line and hybrid-electric assembly technology, alongside significant extensions and upgrades to existing facilities. Production overseas will meet local market demand for the latest addition to the Range Rover line-up.
Land Rover has pioneered all-terrain technologies over the past 70 years and the new Evoque launches with a combination of that unrivalled heritage and a range of innovations, such as ClearSight Ground View and ClearSight Rear View to meet the needs of today’s customers.
ClearSight Ground View – the realisation of Land Rover’s transparent bonnet concept previewed on the Discovery Vision concept – is a world first. Cameras in the front grille and on the door mirrors project a feed onto the central touchscreen to show what is ahead of and underneath the front of the vehicle with a virtual 180-degree view. Helping the driver maintain visibility when negotiating extreme terrains as well as high city-centre kerbs, this is yet another technological evolution that makes the new Evoque ideal for traversing the urban jungle, the actual jungle and everything in between.
ClearSight Rear View is another advanced technology and a first in the segment. The smart rear-view mirror transforms into a high-definition screen at the touch of a button, by displaying a rear-facing camera feed onto the mirror, the driver’s view remains unrestricted by passengers or large items in the back, while also providing a wider 50-degree field of vision using a camera positioned above the rear window. This technology also delivers clearer visibility in low light conditions.
Order books for the new Range Rover Evoque open on 22nd November with first deliveries to customers in UK, Europe and USA beginning in the first months of 2019.
Editors’ notes
- The Evoque accounted for one in four Land Rover sales from 2010 to 2018
- 44% of components have been sourced in the UK to support the production of the new Evoque (37% Europe and 19% international markets)
- Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK’s largest exporters and generates over 80% of its revenue from exports
- Halewood has picked up 16 regional business awards since 2011 and won its first national award as it took home the ‘UK Manufacturer of the Year’ crown at the Insider MADE in the UK Manufacturing Awards 2016
- Halewood is one of three Jaguar Land Rover advanced vehicle manufacturing facilities in the UK
- 348 suppliers deliver 5 million parts to Halewood every week
