A "baby Defender" will join the lineup in 2027, possibly with "Defender Sport" badging. JLR has already used the Sport badge when it introduced smaller SUVs to the Range Rover and Discovery families, so the naming strategy would make perfect sense, though no one at JLR has confirmed the badging plan.
According to Autocar, the junior Defender will be part of the same next-generation family of smaller SUVs that we already know will include the Range Rover Evoque and Velar, and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The existence of the baby Defender was confirmed by JLR CEO Adrian Mardell, who told attendees at an investor conference that "the Range Rover, Defender and Discovery brands will come off the [EMA] platform."
The electric modular architecture (EMA) platform will allow JLR to launch fully electric SUVs in the second half of this decade, but it has also been designed to support hybrid powertrains, which will remain hugely important in markets where EV uptake is still relatively slow.
Although the current full-size Defender is available in three different lengths, only the two-door 90′ is small, and that comes with the practical limitations imposed by that door layout and truncated wheelbase. The four-door Defender 110 measures 197.6-in (5,018 mm) with a spare wheel on the rear, but Autocar suggests the new four-door baby Defender be around 16.5-in (420 mm) shorter, making it about the same size as a Skoda Kodiaq.
JLR announced earlier this year that each of its Defender, Discovery and Range Rover nameplates would become its own brand, and that the Land Rover name would take a step back, although it would still be used as a "trust mark," said design chief Gerry McGovern. The company also simplified its own name from Jaguar Land Rover to JLR and introduced a new logo.
