UK Prime Minister cannot get an electric Range Rover

Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that Prime Minister Keir Starmer cannot use an electric version of his armoured Range Rover. The manufacturer says current battery-electric technology cannot meet required levels of blast protection, forcing the head of government to rely on petrol models. So he has to stick with a petrol version.

In submissions to the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate consultation, obtained by the Fast Charge newsletter and reported by the Guardian>, JLR wrote that “the required safety levels and blast protection cannot be achieved” with an armoured BEV and that it sees no “workable engineering solution” at present.

The Range Rover Sentinel fleet is believed to use V8 petrol engines, designed to provide the power reserves needed to move heavily armoured vehicles quickly in emergencies. JLR builds the cars in Solihull before conversion by its Special Vehicle Operations division. The government fleet also includes armoured Audi A8 saloons.

Armoured vehicles typically add bulletproof glass, plating and bomb shielding that weigh several hundred kilograms. In EVs, the additional weight of the battery pack complicates integration of such systems.
JLR says the UK government remains its main customer for such vehicles and that protection standards for the prime minister’s fleet cannot currently be met with electric drivetrains.

theguardian.com, dailymail.co.uk