Jaguar Land Rover India will introduce its first electric vehicles in the country in 2027, beginning with the Range Rover Electric and Range Rover Sport Electric, as the luxury automaker prepares to enter a market where charging infrastructure and resale values remain key barriers for buyers.
JLR India Managing Director and CEO Rajan Amba said the company viewed India as a key growth market and would initially import the electric models to test customer response. The announcement was made in an interview with PTI. The company does not currently have an electric vehicle in its Indian portfolio.
“Electric is the way forward,” Amba said, adding that the timing was appropriate for JLR to enter the Indian electric vehicle market. He said the company had observed growth in electric vehicles across both premium and more accessible segments, but cautioned that it was too early to assess how Indian consumers would respond to JLR’s first electric offerings.
The planned launch will place the company in a segment where product demand is closely linked to the availability and reliability of charging infrastructure. Amba said charging access and resale values continued to be important considerations for customers, even as both areas improved. He also pointed to initiatives by the Centre and state governments, including incentives for electric cars, as factors strengthening the foundations of the Indian EV market.
JLR’s initial import strategy will allow the company to gauge demand before deciding how its electric vehicle business develops in India. The company did not provide details on launch pricing, charging partnerships, local assembly or the number of vehicles it expects to sell.
Alongside the electric vehicle plans, JLR India is expanding its retail network to improve customer access. Amba said the company expected to increase its outlets to 40 by the end of this year, from 25 a year earlier. The expansion, combined with competitive pricing, is part of the company’s strategy to grow in India.
The automaker has also reported healthy order banks and strong monthly order intake. Its business is generally stronger in the second half of the year because of the structure of its supply chain, Amba said.
The India-UK free trade agreement has already affected pricing for some JLR models. Amba said the company had seen a surge in demand after price reductions, citing one vehicle whose price fell from about ₹4.25 crore to ₹3.5 crore. However, he said it would take a full 12-month period to determine the agreement’s impact on sales by comparing performance with the corresponding period before the revised prices took effect.
JLR also expects around 20 per cent growth in orders for the Defender brand from current levels as a result of localisation. Amba said the projection applied specifically to Defender and that the company intended to pass localisation benefits on to customers, as it had done previously with Range Rover localisation.
The first electric vehicle launches are scheduled for 2027, while JLR India’s immediate next steps include expanding its retail network and evaluating demand for imported electric models.
