Land Rover Australia Announces Introduction of 2WD and Hybrid Technology

Online, May 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Sydney, Australia, 17 May 2010

Land Rover Australia (www.landrover.com.au) has announced that it will introduce a 2WD option (in addition to the 4WD derivative) for the new compact Range Rover vehicle. On sale in 2011, the 2WD vehicle will emit less than 130g/km of CO2 - making it the lightest, most fuel efficient Range Rover ever.

Worldwide, the Land Rover parent company has committed to investing 800 million (approx $1.4 billion AUD) in developing environmental technologies and remains committed to developing vehicles with sustainable features which respond to customer demand.

Phil Popham, Land Rover UK managing director said: "Land Rover has announced that the all-new compact Range Rover will be available in 2WD. This is good news for the company and for our customers. A 2WD option is just one way in which we are developing our vehicles efficiency whilst adding to the Land Rover range and expanding our customer base. We will continue to make the worlds finest all-terrain vehicles for those customers who require 4WD but will also now offer an alternative to those that don't."

As part of the introduction of 2WD, Land Rover will be focussing on three main areas of technology to reduce the weight of Land Rover vehicles, reduce parasitic losses and increase powertrain efficiency. The use of hybrid technology is also part of the significant developments for the larger vehicles in the range. The first diesel hybrid 4WD will be available in 2012 and on the road in 2013.

By the end of 2010 Land Rover will be testing the first diesel hybrid prototype called the 'range_e' which is being developed using a Range Rover Sport platform. Tests of this vehicle will use the existing 3.0 litre TDV6 diesel engine featuring a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. The goal is to achieve a range of 20 miles using electric power only emitting less than 100 g/km of CO2 emissions and to achieve a top speed of around 190kmh.

Land Rover has over 60 years of experience developing supremely capable four wheel drive vehicles with pioneering technology such as Terrain Response. Land Rover sells its vehicles in over 160 countries world-wide, including Australia, and is constantly looking at the market place and developing new vehicles that customers in all these markets want to buy.

For further information about Land Rover Australia and its range of 4WD and 2WD vehicles, please contact:

Tim Krieger
Marketing and Public Affairs Manager