Range Rover has unveiled its first fully electric vehicle, marking a major milestone in Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) electrification strategy after a year-long delay to the model’s planned launch.
The Range Rover Electric will be built at JLR’s Solihull plant in the West Midlands, where the company has invested heavily in upgrading production facilities and training workers for the shift to electric vehicles.
The launch comes at a challenging time for JLR, which is battling falling profits, supply-chain disruptions and the financial impact of a major cyber attack that disrupted production for more than a month.
JLR reported profits of just £66 million in the first quarter of 2026, following disruption caused by a fire at a key Norwegian supplier. The company is also restructuring its operations and announced in July that hundreds of jobs would be cut.
Despite the pressures, JLR said it has trained about 10,500 employees to support its electrification programme. About 9,000 workers in Solihull have received training, while a further 1,500 employees across the West Midlands have been prepared for new electric vehicle production processes.
The company’s Wolverhampton propulsion manufacturing centre is also producing battery packs and electric drive units alongside components for vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
Martin Limpert, managing director of Range Rover, described the electric model as the product of a decade of engineering development.
“This is pivotal for us at Range Rover and for JLR,” he said, adding that the investment would help secure jobs and support the wider regional economy.
David Bailey, professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, described the launch as the beginning of a “new era” for JLR.
He said the move into electric vehicles would bring a significant transformation not only for the carmaker but also for its extensive supply chain across the West Midlands.
The launch is therefore being seen as more than the introduction of a new vehicle. It represents a critical step in JLR’s attempt to reposition itself for an increasingly electric automotive market while navigating financial, operational and regulatory pressures.
The company is continuing a broader restructuring programme, with fewer than 300 roles set to be eliminated following the cyber attack that brought production to a halt for more than a month.
JLR has maintained that new vehicle launches, including its electric models, will strengthen the business despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, inflationary pressures and changing regulations affecting the global economy
