2026 Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender range is set to gain a new, smaller model in the “Defender Sport” that is set to make its debut next year, and it will be the first battery-electric model in the Defender sub-brand’s line-up, Autocar has reported. According to the publication, the upcoming model is being developed on a new electric vehicle platform, and has been sighted running tests on roads in the United Kingdom. Development work on the Defender “Sport” is “well advanced”, said Defender brand director Mark Cameron to Autocar, though he did not confirm if it will officially use the Sport suffix in its name. When the new entry-level Defender derivative emerges, it will join a line-up currently comprised of the Defender 90, 110 and 130 bodystyles, in addition to Hardtop versions for commercial applications. This will be the first wholly new product since the Defender line was turned into a brand – alongside Range Rover and Discovery lines – under JLR‘s House of Brands approach. The present focus is to make the Defender line a “luxury lifestyle brand”, Cameron said. “We’ve got a portfolio of one model with several variants, but I’m working seven to 10 years ahead to build out this whole brand portfolio. We’ve got to make sure everything we do as Defender has the DNA of the brand: epic built-to-last, go-anywhere capability,” the brand director said. Said to be just over 4.5 m long, the “Defender Sport” is underpinned by the EMA platform that will be the basis of the group’s future EV models, including the Evoque and Velar successors. Model lines further upmarket like the full-size Range Rover and Defender will use the MLA architecture, while Jaguar has developed its own EV platform, the JEA which underpins the Concept 00. There will be some compromises in adopting a platform underfloor batteries, as “the size of the vehicle and platform will probably reduce wheel travel and articulation compared with a current Defender,” Cameron said. While the Defender Sport will not match the current, L663 Defender for its off-roading capabilities, the upcoming model “will still be designed to offer substantial off-road capability”. “The capability we have in our vehicles carries a penalty that works against you when you think about range for an EV. My job is to make sure we retain Defender’s DNA, otherwise we become another SUV brand and there are plenty of those,” Cameron said. The brand director names the shrunken test cycles brought by Chinese brands as a major industry disruptor. “Their speed to market is just incredible. But we have always maintained that we need to have at least two winter test cycles and two hot weather test cycles for a Defender. We’re looking at ways to shrink our product development time, but we don’t want to compromise on quality and longevity and all the things you have to deliver as a luxury brand,” he said. Compare prices between different insurer providers to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services. Many payment method supported and you can pay with instalment using Atome, Grab PayLater or Shopee SPayLater.