The Land Rover Defender and its blocky lines have allowed it to win over its fair share of fans with the SUV playing a crucial role in shoring up sales especially for unified Jaguar Land Rover dealers who said yes to Jag’s expensive EV related renovations and are willing to not have any Jag products to sell for a whole year.

Perhaps as a way of acknowledging the Defender’s strong momentum the company has apparently indirectly confirmed a smaller all-electric version of the Defender is coming and it will be the first pure electric model to enter Land Rover showrooms.

Smaller and ready to expand the Defender brand

This is according to a new report which stems from an interview AutoCar did with Mark Cameron, the gentleman who is in charge of overseeing the project. Cameron said the key will be to ensure any vehicle badged a Defender carries the nameplate’s DNA of being “built to last” and delivering true “go-anywhere capability,” which will be what customers expect.

Cameron kept an exact release date close to the vest, but the appearance of a smaller SUV within the Defender brand would allow JLR to finally expand the sub-brand beyond the initial Defender. This new sub-brand is part of a larger strategy Land Rover has done in recent years with the firm making each model a distinct sub-brand.

Prototypes of the mysterious EV have already been seen under development and while it appears to keep the Defender’s core boxy shape, the front end has apparently been tweaked in a bid to enhance aerodynamics which is similar to the look once adopted by the axed Freelander. Land Rover’s Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) is expected to play a large part in the model’s development with the platform also potentially expanding to other models including the next generation Evoque, Discovery Sport, and the Velar.

In the same interview, Cameron also admitted the floor-mounted battery will force the EV to deal with less off-road capability but promised it will still be plenty for most buyers.

What’s next?

It remains to be seen what Land Rover is truly up to with this model, but the potential name could follow what we have seen in other Land Rover models with this smaller one getting the Sport moniker added to its name. Another avenue would be the existing number based setup with the EV getting the 80 designation to match the gas-powered 90, 110, and 130 models.

As for the sub-brand itself, Cameron acknowledged a variety of power trains are needed to help the Defender lineup appeal to a wider dragnet of buyers. Other body configurations could also be coming but with JLR currently facing rough financial waters, these variants (including a rumored pickup truck) could be forced to wait until far into the future before they make their appearance. The EVs themselves are also facing delays.