How Range Rover Builds Its First Electric SUV

The new Range Rover Electric brings a major change to one of Britain’s most famous luxury vehicle factories. At the Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing facility in Solihull, West Midlands, the company has prepared its historic production operation to build the first fully electric Range Rover alongside models powered by other types of powertrains.

Solihull has been closely connected with Range Rover for more than 5 decades, but producing the electric model required significant changes behind the scenes. New manufacturing equipment, digital technology, battery handling systems, and updated assembly processes have been introduced to accommodate the electric powertrain. Around 9,000 manufacturing employees at Solihull have also received training connected with electrification.

One of the most interesting parts of the operation is its flexibility. The Range Rover Electric is based on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture, which allows Jaguar Land Rover to produce vehicles with different powertrains within the same manufacturing operation. This means the factory can continue building mild hybrid and plug in hybrid Range Rover models while adding the fully electric version to the lineup.

The Range Rover Electric itself represents a significant technical step for the brand. It uses a large 118.5 kilowatt hour usable battery and an 800 volt electrical architecture designed to support powerful performance and rapid charging. The dual motor system delivers approximately 542 horsepower and 850 Newton meters of torque, giving the large luxury sport utility vehicle the kind of acceleration customers have come to expect from modern electric vehicles.

However, the story of how this Range Rover is made actually begins before those components reach Solihull.

Around 20 miles away in Wolverhampton, Jaguar Land Rover operates its Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre. The facility was previously focused heavily on internal combustion engines, but it has been transformed to play an important role in the company’s electric future.

This is where major electric powertrain components for the Range Rover Electric are manufactured, including its battery packs and Electric Drive Units. Jaguar Land Rover has installed 13 new battery and Electric Drive Unit manufacturing lines as part of the transformation of the facility.

Battery production involves considerably more than simply placing cells into a large enclosure. Individual battery cells are performance tested before being incorporated into the pack. After assembly, the completed battery undergoes additional checks for performance and manufacturing integrity before it is cleared for installation into a vehicle at Solihull.

The Electric Drive Units also receive detailed quality checks during production. Advanced scanning technology, including systems supported by artificial intelligence, helps verify that important components have been correctly fitted before the units continue through production.

Together, Wolverhampton and Solihull show how Jaguar Land Rover is creating its electric vehicles through a connected manufacturing network. Wolverhampton produces some of the most important technology hidden underneath the vehicle, while Solihull brings those components together with the body, cabin, chassis, and other systems to create the finished Range Rover Electric.

For a vehicle that still looks unmistakably like a Range Rover, there is an entirely new manufacturing story taking place underneath the surface.