Jaguar Land Rover has opened South African orders for the new Range Rover Electric, marking the first time the luxury SUV has been offered with a fully electric powertrain.

Pricing starts at R3,916,800 for the SWB EV550 HSE, while the flagship LWB EV550 SV Ultra costs R6,035,000.

All models come with an eight-year or 160,000km warranty.

First fully electric Range Rover

The Range Rover Electric uses two 260kW electric motors, one on each axle.

Together, they produce 404kW and 850Nm, making the electric model more torque-rich than other variants in the range.

Power comes from a 118.5kWh battery, which provides a claimed WLTP driving range of 598km.

JLR says the SUV can accelerate from 0–100km/h in 4.3 seconds, while the 80–120km/h overtaking sprint takes 2.7 seconds.

Fast charging and off-road ability

The battery uses 800V technology and supports rapid DC charging.

According to JLR, charging from 10% to 80% can take 22 minutes, while 220km of range can be added in 10 minutes.

The Range Rover Electric retains all-wheel drive and can wade through water up to 900mm deep.

It also features single-pedal driving and an Integrated Traction Management system capable of climbing slopes of up to 45 degrees.

Extensive testing before launch

JLR says the vehicle completed more than 250,000 hours of virtual testing, more than any previous Range Rover.

Testing also took place in temperatures as low as -40°C in Sweden, as well as in hot-weather conditions in Dubai and during real-world driving in the UK.

The SUV features a ThermAssist heat-management system designed to improve battery performance, charging speed and efficiency in extreme temperatures.

JLR says the technology can add up to 40km of range and reduce heating energy use by 40%.

More than 300 patent applications have been filed for the Range Rover Electric.

The vehicle is built at JLR’s Solihull plant in the UK, where more than 9,000 employees were upskilled for electric vehicle production.