Shorter, all-electric Defender spinoff is built around JLR’s new EMA architecture
April 7, 2025 at 11:52
- Land Rover’s shrunken 2028 Defender EV has made its spy debut in prototype form.
- The boxy SUV launches in 2027 and could be called Defender 80 or Defender Sport.
- SUV shares JLR’s EMA platform with Evoque EV and will rival Merc’s baby G-wagon EV.
JLR has been forced to temporarily pause its deliveries to the US due to Donald Trump’s import tariffs – tariffs that could make life difficult for the all-electric 2028 baby Defender EV that’s been spied testing for the very first time.
Due to launch in 2027, the chunky-looking electric SUV is much smaller than the Defender we know today, which will also get its own EV variant. And while it shares some visual similarities, like the wide hips when viewed from the back, plus flared fenders, an upright tail, and a long, flat roof, it will have its own style.
Related: Smaller ‘Defender Sport’ Will Reportedly Join Land Rover Lineup In 2027
Compared with the current Defender, this Skoda Kodiaq-sized prototype has a sportier rake to its windshield, slimmer headlights, and the C-pillar leans forward, rather than straight up. And under the skin, it’s a totally different animal, riding on the new EMA platform JLR will deploy for various new EVs, including the Evoque, Velar, and Discovery Sport.
The company has so far only confirmed those three vehicles, but these pictures prove a Defender spinoff is also on the cards, and that move makes perfect sense since the Defender is the strongest sub-brand in the carmaker.
Featuring 800-volt tech for rapid charging that could allow the EVs to chow down on 350 kW for sub-18-minute refills, the models will all be built at JLR’s Halewood plant on Merseyside in the north west of England and use batteries produced in its new Somerset facility several hours further south.
Some rumors suggest the baby Defender could be called Defender 80 or Defender Sport when it hits the road ready to battle Mercedes’ upcoming baby G-wagon. The second of those names would make sense for a couple of reasons. Land Rover already used the Sport suffix on a Discovery spinoff, so buyers should easily understand it, and this prototype’s rising waistline and slanted C-pillar are two design details seen on the Discovery Sport.
Whatever it’s called, we’re expecting the smaller Defender to debut in 2027 as a 2028 MY vehicle, where it’ll undoubtedly be a hit in the UK, which is still lapping up EVs. But unless the current US tariff situation changes, this baby Defender could have a very grown-up sticker price in American showrooms.
Images: Baldauf
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