The Land Rover Discovery currently shares its D7u platform with JLR’s larger models, the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The Defender is also on a version of that platform. That will change in the future, CEO Thierry Bollore said. In the future, the Discovery will be on the same EMA platform as the smaller models.
That most likely means that the New Discovery will also be available as an EV. EMA stands for Electric Modular Achitecture, a platform that is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s electrification plans. The platform is suitable for EVs as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. Currently, the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery are on the D7u platform, while the Defender is on another version of the same platform: D7x. The Discovery is therefore split off from this. The Defender will not last in the future, because that model, according to Bollore, is not compatible with the EMA platform. “The Defender needs a different kind of platform than what the Discovery, Discovery Sport, Velar and Evoque will be on,” he said. Automotive News the JLR CEO.
No charging port to be seen on the current Discovery.
It is not yet known exactly what that EMA platform will look like. The first model on the new platform should be on the market in 2024. For the Discovery, the step is in any case quite large, because currently the full-size SUV is not even available as a plug-in hybrid. The Velar, Discovery Sport and Evoque are on the price list with a plug, just like the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender.
The next generation Range Rover will be based on the MLA base, which stands for Modular Longitudinal Architecture, in contrast to the Discovery. Just like the EMA basis, this platform is suitable for both EVs and powertrains with combustion engines. Given Bollore’s statement, it seems likely that the future Defender will also get this platform, although the next generation of that model will probably take a while.