All-new Range Rover set for hydrogen power

Land Rover has hinted that the all-electric Range Rover that will be introduced in 2024 could be joined by a second zero-emissions version powered by its latest hydrogen fuel-cell tech.

Speaking to Autocar, Land Rover program director Nick Miller revealed that as well as being developed for battery-electric propulsion, the MLA architecture that underpins the fifth-generation Range Rover can also package JLR's upcoming hydrogen powertrain.

Claimed to have been developed to be "complementary" to its pure-electric powertrains, Miller explained that hydrogen fuel-cell tech could help the British car-maker achieve its aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2036.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is already well underway developing its fuel-cell technology and is currently conducting real-world testing in modified Land Rover Defender models on public roads.

Meanwhile, the Brit mag has also reported that JLR and BMW have formed a strategic alliance to create an electric drive system that could appear in both the all-electric version of the Range Rover and the FCEV version.

There's no word on whether the electric Range Rover is in JLR Australia's product plans, but when the luxury SUV arrives in June 2022, Aussie buyers will have the option of two wheelbases, three seating layouts and four engine types – including a powerful 390kW BMW-sourced 4.4-litre petrol V8.

Included in the line-up is a potent 375kW six-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain with an extended 100km range, but this model won't touch down until later in 2022.