Silent and sustainable

Land Rover has quietly introduced their new electric Defender which minimises environmental and noise pollution.

The Land Rover Defender, the preferred vehicle for use in game parks, now comes in a super modern electric version.

Jaguar Land Rover South Africa recently announced at the Tourism Indaba in Durban that an electric battery system has been developed for the Defender by Axeon, an independent European developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery systems.

This battery has been fitted to a Land Rover Defender in place of the standard 2.4 litre diesel engine. While electric vehicle batteries are usually placed on the floor of the vehicle, the Defender’s battery has been designed to fit into the engine bay to ensure grounding clearance and wading height.

Replacing the engine of this vehicle reduces its tailpipe carbon dioxide emission from 295g/km to zero which the electric battery also allows it to operate very quietly, making it environmentally friendly on both accounts. Testing also showed the electric battery to be capable of three times a typical game drive on a single charge, some 80km with a reserve range of about 20km.