Land Rover to Turn to Hybrids

As we progress into the second decade of the 21st century, the future of the automotive industry becomes clearer and clearer. The push made by few car makers over the past few years to popularize hybrid and electric vehicles is becoming too strong to continue to be ignored by manufacturers not traditionally associated with green motoring.

Names like Rolls Royce and Land Rover are slowly embracing (although reluctantly) the new ideas, and the first results of this new way of thinking have already been presented at previous auto shows.

For Land Rover, the first step towards the new world will come in the form of hybrids. According to Global Brand Director John Edwards, talking to Inside Line, alternative propulsion means will no longer be ignored by Land Rover.

One year from now, the first real Land Rover hybrid will arrive onto the market. It will be based on the Range Rover, more precisely on the new generation that will make its debut next year. Word is the model will use an electric motor paired with a V6 gasoline engine

That first model will be followed one year later by a more radical one, a plug-in hybrid that will share some of its technologies with the Jaguar cars.

For those expecting the entire Land Rover line to turn hybrid or electric in the near future, the wait might be in vain. Still trying to resist the trend, the manufacturer says it will now throw itself head on into this new industry, but will go for a more calculated approach. More precisely, hybrids will be offered for those models in the range that can achieve the biggest gains from the technology when it comes to fuel consumption.