Land Rover to Launch Its First Diesel Hybrid in 2013

Land Rover announced it would launch its first hybrid model in 2013, according to Car Magazine. The new Range_e is a hybrid prototype that demonstrates how hybrid technology will be put to work on a Range Rover Sport platform.

Testing of the diesel-electric hybrid will start towards the end of this year, with Land Rover using a fleet of five hybrids. The production date is scheduled for 2013, when a new generation of large Land Rovers will also appear (Discovery, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover).

The first to use the hybrid technology is expected to be the Range Rover Sport, with the Discovery and the classic Range Rover to follow. Engineers will first develop the more complicated diesel-electric hybrid, after which the petrol-electric version will also be ready. The latter wil be destined for markets like North America, China and the Middle East, where diesels are a rarity.

The hybrid Land Rovers will use a ZF eight-speed automatic that will be fitted to all future models. The cars will be 110 kilograms heavier than standard models, but there’s a serious project ongoing at Land Rover’s HQ involving the use of lightweight aluminium tech bound for the 2013 Range Rovers.

The full hybrid will go on sale in 2013 for an extra GBP10,000 in today's money, and by around 2015 a plug-in hybrid is scheduled. This one will be a more advanced proposition. “It means you can drive a Range Rover for at least 20 miles on full electric power around town, emissions of less than 100g/km and speeds of up to 70mph in EV mode”, said Peter Richings, chief engineer of hybrids at Jaguar Land Rover, about the future plug-in hybrid.