Smaller 'Baby' Land Rover Defender EV Reportedly Coming in 2027

There’s a smaller Land Rover Defender on the way, and it’ll be electric, a Jaguar Land Rover executive said at a recent investor conference, according to Autocar.

The “baby” Defender, as Autocar calls it, will be built on JLR’s Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform and is expected to arrive in 2027. It’ll be one of four models built on the EMA platform, joining the next-generation Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, and Land Rover Discovery Sport, Autocar reports.

Based on the EMA platform’s dimensions, the new, smaller Defender (which could possibly carry the Defender Sport nameplate) will be about 15 feet long and 6.5 feet wide, making it a bit smaller than a BMW X3.

This new smaller Defender wouldn’t replace the current full-size SUV in Land Rover’s lineup. In fact, the next-generation Defender is expected to arrive in 2026, according to Autocar, based on the company’s Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform, which supports both purely electric and hybrid ICE powertrains. It’s then we expect the first full-size Defender EV to make its first appearance.

Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.