Range Rover will axe its two cheapest and most copied SUVs next year and replace them with the new £90k 'car-like' electric GT at double the price

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that the Evoque and Velar will cease production in the middle of next year, paving the way for the Range Rover brand to move further upmarket and appeal to a wealthier clientele.

Its two most affordable models will be replaced by the all-new Range Rover GT, the company's most car-like vehicle yet, which looks more like a jacked-up family saloon than an out-and-out SUV.

It marks the first time in the carmaker's near-60-year history that it will sell a vehicle that isn't a high-riding 4x4.

The new electric GT is expected to start from around £90,000, double the price of a new Evoque, which starts from £44,855.

The axeing of the two models will allow the Land Rover Discovery and a smaller, cheaper Defender to be repositioned as the entry points into JLR ownership, bosses claim.

But the demise of two of its most recognisable and widely copied vehicles also raises a further question: what luxury automotive products will Chinese brands replicate when designing their next generation of affordable SUVs with premium British styling?

Range Rover is ditching its cheapest model, the Evoque, next year. The new electric GT will become the entry point for Range Rover models at double the start price of around £90k

In a statement issued to This is Money, a JLR spokesman said: 'Both Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque will continue to be sold in selected global markets where demand remains strong, throughout 2027.

'Production of both models will end in mid-2027 in line with their natural product lifecycles, as JLR's manufacturing facilities transition to build its next generation of vehicles.

'Solihull will continue to focus on producing Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and the forthcoming Jaguar Type 01, while Halewood will transition to produce the new Range Rover GT and a new model from the Defender family.'

With the GT offering a sleeker look and more svelte proportions, it appears the natural successor to the Velar.

However, with the outgoing SUV priced from £56,740, its replacement represents a near-60 per cent jump in price.

The Velar joined the Range Rover line-up as a more stylish alternative to the Range Rover Sport. While its coupe looks were widely liked, it was never among JLR's best sellers

With the new electric GT coming as the replacement and offering a sleek look and svelte proportions, it appears the natural successor to the outgoing Velar

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While the Velar has been comprehensively outsold by the larger Range Rover and Range Rover Sport since it entered showrooms in 2017, the Evoque is a very different story.

When the first-generation model arrived in 2011, it became both a runaway success and JLR's most popular vehicle.

Its distinctive styling, compact city-friendly dimensions and badge appeal made it an instant hit with customers keen to join the Range Rover club without spending six-figure sums on one of its larger SUVs.

Famously, Victoria Beckham collaborated with Land Rover's design team, led by former design director Gerry McGovern, to create a limited-run Range Rover Evoque Special Edition, further boosting the vehicle's appeal and helping turn it into a commercial powerhouse.

When the first-generation Evoque arrived in 2011 as a three-door design, it became both a runaway success and JLR's most popular vehicle

The Evoque was initially a huge hit for JLR and regularly exceeded 100,000 annual sales in the mid 2010s

Famously, Victoria Beckham collaborated with Land Rover's design team, led by former design director Gerry McGovern, to create a limited-run Range Rover Evoque Special Edition

Before the Evoque arrived, JLR's annual global sales hovered around 144,000 vehicles.

In 2012, the first full year of Evoque availability, deliveries more than doubled to over 303,000 units, driven heavily by demand for the stylish compact SUV, which at launch was even offered as a three-door model.

At its peak, the Evoque accounted for one in every three JLR vehicles sold globally, with demand so strong that the Halewood factory switched to a 24-hour production schedule to keep up.

In 2016, JLR, owned by Indian giant Tata, described the Evoque as 'Land Rover's greatest sales success story' after amassing more than half a million sales across 180 countries in just five years.

By the time the second-generation model arrived in 2018, however, the premium compact SUV market had become far more crowded, making it harder for the Evoque to stand out. It also suffered a series of reliability issues that dented its reputation.

The Jaecoo 7 has earned the nickname the 'Temu Range Rover' for its likeness to the Velar but at half the price. The family-friendly Chinese SUV is the second best-selling new car in 2026

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In 2019, JLR won a 'significant' legal case in the Chinese courts against a Landwind's X7 SUV (left), which was deemed a copycat of the Evoque (right)

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The Beijing Chaoyang District Court ruled that the Range Rover Evoque (right) had five unique features copied by the Chinese model (left)

What will Chinese brands copy now? 

Despite not being among JLR's best sellers, the Velar and Evoque remain two of the most frequently replicated vehicle designs on the market, particularly among Chinese newcomers.

The Jaecoo 7, Britain's second best-selling new car of 2026 and the model that topped the UK sales charts over the past two months, has been nicknamed the 'Temu Range Rover' because of its close resemblance to the larger of the two Range Rover models being discontinued.

In 2019, JLR won a 'significant' legal case in China against a company that produced a copy of the Evoque.

The British carmaker said the Beijing Chaoyang District Court ruled that the Range Rover Evoque had five unique design features copied in a model called the Landwind X7, built by Jiangling Motor Corporation.

As a result of the verdict, all sales, manufacturing and marketing of the Landwind vehicle were ordered to cease immediately, with JLR also receiving financial compensation. The company was awarded RMB1.5million, approximately £170,000.

Range Rover's 'most car-like' model ever: The new electric Range Rover GT will be the new entry point to Range Rover ownership. At £90k, it's going to be double the price of the Evoque

The GT's svelte body is a bold deviation from Range Rover convention. In fact, it looks like a Range Rover Sport that's had a grand piano dropped onto it from a great height

Paving the way for Range Rover to be more expensive 

The Evoque and Velar's departure from production lines will coincide with the arrival of the all-new, and significantly more expensive, GT model.

It will become the new and substantially higher entry point into Range Rover ownership as JLR looks to position its 'House of Brands' at distinct price levels.

A new Defender Sport is currently under development and will be unveiled next year, becoming the most affordable model in the Defender range alongside the Discovery, which currently starts from just under £70,000.

JLR has already confirmed it will kill off the smaller Discovery Sport, the Evoque's sister model, at the end of this year.

The GT will be the first all-electric Range Rover to use the company's Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA), a highly adaptable platform created primarily for its mid-sized premium vehicles.

This differs from the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) underpinning the forthcoming Range Rover Electric and Range Rover Sport Electric.

However, both have been designed to accommodate a variety of powertrains, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, self-charging hybrid, petrol and diesel. There is still no word on when a combustion-engined GT will be offered.

The GT will also differ from the Jaguar Electrified Architecture (JEA), which underpins the controversial new £120,000 Type 01 electric grand tourer. 

However, just like its Jaguar sibling, the Range Rover GT will be sold as standard with a luxurious four-seat layout.

Bosses say that despite its reduced ground clearance, the GT will be able to tackle tough off-road terrains like any other Range Rover 

Unlike the Jag, the Range Rover GT does have a glass rear window and conventional rear-view mirror. Though it will have four seats as standard, like its Jaguar brethren

That said, bosses insist the GT will retain the off-road capability expected of a Range Rover.

Martin Limpert, managing director of Range Rover, said it will be the 'most car-like' Range Rover ever.

'The Range Rover GT will redefine the grand-touring segment with the ability to deliver beautiful and engaging GT poise, proportions and long-distance refinement while offering capabilities no conventional GT can match,' he said.

'We have spent the last few years working obsessively on the fundamentals of the GT formula, reinterpreted in a sophisticated, uniquely Range Rover way.

'The result is the most car-like, yet unmistakably capable, Range Rover ever created, now possible on our electrified EMA architecture - complementing our existing powertrain portfolio to deliver a complete set of options for every customer need.

'Its blend of effortless EV performance, first-class long-haul refinement and all-terrain capability is pure Range Rover, while its calming interior previews our vision of a modern grand tourer.'