Parallel to their efforts developing the 2012 Range Rover, the British company is also preparing a hybrid version of the car to be launched in 2013.

Unlike what everyone was expecting, based on their knowledge about the Range-e diesel electric hybrid, the Range Rover Hybrid will use a gasoline-electric system. That probably has something to do with Land Rover’s “top-down” strategy which starts the green offensive with larger, more luxurious models. Customers who buy such cars are more likely to fall for a petrol-powered hybrid rather than a diesel!

The new hybrid system will use either a V6 or a V8 mated to an electric motor. There will also be a range-extender hybrid in 2014 which will be  like a pure electric car but comes with a small gasoline engine which acts as a generator to replenish the batteries that power the car.

This to-down strategy means that Range Rover Evoque is safe from a hybrid treatment, for now. But it’s actually a good candidate. We have to wait and see what LR has in mind.

via: InsideLine