2021 Land Rover Defender plug-in hybrid unveiled

Scheduled to go on sale sometime next year, the plug-in hybrid will be the first Defender to feature the tech.

As part of the update for 2021, Land Rover has also decided to update the Defender with a new plug-in hybrid petrol engine as well as a mild hybrid diesel.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions globally, sales of the Defender 90 variant put on hold. These have gone commenced in international markets, but there has yet to be an update on the Indian market.

Scheduled to go on sale sometime next year, the plug-in hybrid will be the first Defender to feature the tech.

The P400e will feature a 404 PS motor with a 43 km electricity-only range. This comes from a 2-litre four-cylinder 300 PS petrol engine mated to a 143 PS electric motor. 0-100 km/h comes up in 5.6 seconds and the company claims it will offer “substantial torque” for better off-road capabilities. It can also be run in completely on electricity in low range mode both on and off road.

On the diesel front mild hybrid tech will be offered on a 3-litre six-cylinder diesel engine. This will be available in three output configurations – The D200 with 200 PS/500 Nm, the D250 with 249 PS/570 Nm and the top-spec D300 with 300 PS/650 Nm.

One point to note is that the plug-in hybrid will only be offered in the long wheelbase Defender 110 variant initially. Land Rover also claims that this will be “the most capable and durable” version of the Defender.

Land Rover, earlier this year, had already announced the prices of the Defender to begin at Rs 69.99 lakh and both the long wheelbase 110 as well as the short wheelbase 90 variants are available, even as bookings on the 90 are still on hold.