Range Rover launches first fully electric model

Range Rover has revealed its first fully electric car model, after a year-long delay to its original launch plan. The Range Rover Electric, set to be manufactured in Solihull, represents a significant shift in the company's electrification strategy, supported by major upgrades across its West Midlands facilities. JLR's parent company announced the upskilling of 10,500 employees as part of its modernization efforts, despite recent financial challenges and planned job cuts.

The launch of the electric model arrives amid declining profits, supply chain disruptions, and a series of restructuring measures following a major cyber attack that cost the company £1.9 billion—an incident deemed the most economically damaging cyber event in UK history. JLR's electric transition is further complicated by a fire at a Norwegian supplier in early 2026, which reduced profits to £66 million in the first quarter of the year.

The company attributes the launch to new battery and electric drive unit production lines, as well as training for approximately 9,000 employees in Solihull and an additional 1,500 throughout the West Midlands region. Following a July announcement of job cuts, Martin Limpert, Range Rover's managing director, emphasized that the new model is the result of a decade of "considered engineering."

He stated that this launch is pivotal for Range Rover, JLR, their partners, retailers, and communities, as it secures jobs and benefits the economy. David Bailey, a professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, described the launch as "the start of a new era" for the firm, highlighting it as a significant step towards electrification that will bring profound changes to the company and its supply chain in the West Midlands.

The automaker is also restructuring, confirming that fewer than 300 positions will be eliminated just a year after a cyber attack halted production for over a month. Despite these challenges, JLR remains optimistic, stating that new product launches will keep the company "in good shape" while acknowledging the ongoing geopolitical, inflationary, and regulatory challenges facing the industry.