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The new Range Rover Electric has completed a second round of winter testing ahead of its launch.

Key aspects put to the test included the EV's new thermal management system: how well it could heat the cabin and maintain rapid-charging performance in extreme sub-zero temperatures.

The prototypes also faced high-angle inclines and declines on frozen surfaces, testing that their one-pedal driving modes (using the motors' regenerative effect to slow and stop the car while off the throttle) work across a range of terrains.

"Rigorous testing procedures in extreme and unpredictable conditions like those experienced in Arjeplog [Sweden] are crucial to Range Rover Electric's real-world reliability and resilience," said JLR product engineering chief Thomas Müller.

JLR has also confirmed that the Range Rover Electric uses a 117kWh battery pack designed and assembled in-house, comprising 344 prismatic cells and running at 800V.

The firm has yet to detail a range figure, but such a large capacity should comfortably yield more than 300 miles between charges.

The winter testing comes after prototypes were last year driven in the UAE in temperatures approaching 50deg C.

They were sent up Big Red, a 300ft sand dune in the heart of Sharjah’s Al Badayer desert, to test the EV’s new Intelligent Torque Management system, which replaces a conventional ABS-based traction control system.

This is claimed to improve traction control off road by diverting power to each electric motor to reduce torque reaction time from around 100 milliseconds to as little as one millisecond. JLR says, after five continuous attempts, none of the cars demonstrated any fall in performance. 

Müller said: “A hot climate is one of the most challenging for any battery-electric vehicle, because of the need to cool the cabin and optimise battery performance at the same time. 

“The additional challenge of driving on sand requires controlled low-speed torque, so our specially developed traction control and thermal management systems work in harmony to ensure power delivery is unaffected. 

“Our tests have shown that in this climate, repeatedly driving the equivalent of 100 metres uphill on fine sand, Range Rover Electric matches the performance of its ICE equivalents; in some instances, even surpassing them – thanks to the introduction of these new features.”

Like the cars pictured in the Arctic Circle, these Range Rover EV mules are  shown completely uncamouflaged – a decision made to "underline the build quality of the initial prototypes", according to JLR.

Painted all in black and without the contrasting matt trim elements that JLR has previously suggested will mark out the EV powertrain, the prototype looks all but identical to the ICE Range Rover that has been on sale since 2022.

JLR said this shows how the prototype's "modernist design language stays true to the Range Rover bloodline", suggesting that the Range Rover Electric – as it is officially named – will only be subtly differentiated from the straight-six, V8 and plug-in hybrid derivatives. 

JLR previously highlighted that this is the first car to use a battery and electric drive unit assembled in-house.

Although bosses have yet to give any performance details for the new Range Rover, it has been promised to have the same “go-anywhere” capability as the ICE version, with a pledge that it will offer towing, wading and all-terrain capability that will exceed any other luxury electric SUV – including the ability to wade through 850mm-deep water.

The hint that the Range Rover Electric will offer performance “comparable” to the existing V8 suggests a total output close to the 523bhp that model offers.

It's expected to adopt a dual-motor system, which will allow for greater four-wheel-drive ability and systems such as torque vectoring to boost its off-road potential. 

JLR said its test programme has been adapted to particularly examine the vehicle’s underfloor, battery durability and thermal derating. 

The Range Rover Electric will be built in Solihull alongside the existing mild-hybrid and PHEV versions. It will initially use batteries from a third-party supplier before eventually switching to packs produced in the new Somerset gigafactory that JLR parent firm Tata is planning. 

Six months on, it still hurts. Tom Ingram won’t forget how a second British Touring Car Championship title slipped through his fingers in the final race of 2024 at a damp Brands Hatch.

But as the 2022 champion readily admits, that defeat to WSR’s Jake Hill only makes him hungry for redemption as the new BTCC season rolls into action at Donington Park.

“Sometimes you learn more out of not winning,” says Ingram, who will once again race a Hyundai i30 Fastback N run by Excelr8 this year. “

That has been the nature of our off-season: looking at those individual stones that maybe we could have turned over. It’s a case in point of how competitive the championship is now that it comes down to such fine margins.

”Separated by just one point before the final race, Ingram’s bid slipped at Brands in conditions that better suited Hill’s rear-wheel-drive BMW 330e M Sport as the front-wheel-drive Hyundai dropped to sixth and Hill rose to second to claim the crown by eight points.

“The nature in which we lost the championship is hard to take, because it came down to one race in which we made a slight faux pas,” says Ingram.

“It feels like a distant memory, yet at the same time still equally painful as if it was just last week. But that’s a good thing, because it drives you on.”

His two rivals who make up the BTCC’s clear and obvious top triumvirate also enjoy blessed continuity into the new season.

Hill will defend his title in his 330e, while four-time champion Ash Sutton – who claimed a consolatory win in that 2024 Brands finale – remains in Alliance Racing’s Ford Focus ST.

Expect the trio to once again fight it out for the crown. Who will prevail remains anyone’s guess at this stage, which is precisely why we love the BTCC.

“Maybe I’m biased, perhaps everyone sees their own era as the toughest, but it certainly feels incredibly tough right now,” says Ingram.

“Take Silverstone qualifying, when there was a tenth of a second covering a multiple of cars… It’s not just the drivers, it’s the engineers, the tyre strategy, the little bit of luck that comes in as well.

"That’s why we enjoy it so much. As a sportsman and athlete, you always want to compare yourself to the best and fight to constantly improve. Racing in the BTCC is an incredible privilege.”

The main development over the winter was the decision for the BTCC to drop its groundbreaking Cosworth-developed spec hybrid system.

Fair to say, it won’t be missed as the BTCC instead adopts 100% sustainable fuel – a sign of where the wind is currently blowing in motor racing. The new formulation, Hiperflo ECO102 R100, is derived from synthetic and biological non-crude sources, hence its marketable 100% fossil-free status.

The cars are 55kg lighter as a result of ditching the hybrid system, which has pleased the drivers.

“The last time we drove these cars at this weight was in 2021, so it has been a while – and it feels great,” says Ingram, who began testing in the new spec at Anglesey Circuit a little more than a week after the Brands finale last autumn. “That gave us a bit of a head start. We probably had the fastest car in 2024 and we’ve only improved it.”

A power boost to balance performance and aid overtaking remains in place through variation of turbocharger boost pressures.

As Ingram puts it: “We’ve still got the push-to-pass element, but instead of being done through electricity, it’s via air. It’s nice to have that without the headache we had in 2021 of piling weight into the car [via success ballast] and making it feel rubbish. 

At least the car will feel consistent. “The racing, as always, will be incredibly tight, and the championship will probably come down to a few points, as in 2024.”

The other main factor race to race will once again be strategy choice over the use of Goodyear’s tyres. This year it will be mandatory for the three overall podium finishers in the first of a weekend’s three races to run the hardest tyre compound available in the second race – as opposed to the top 10 finishers in 2024. 

The usual exception is Thruxton, because of the Hampshire circuit’s high-speed nature and abrasive surface. At all other events, teams will be presented with standard and option tyre compounds, with the latter being available to use in one of the three races.

“Tyres are the biggest variable,” says Ingram. “Around somewhere like Oulton Park, you really notice the difference in performance. It will be another case of staying as mentally stable as you can through the season and not allowing the peaks and troughs to throw you too far off kilter.”

The biggest loss for 2025 is undoubtedly Colin Turkington, the Northern Irishman who with Sutton and tin-top legend Andy Rouse shares the record for the most BTCC titles.

Commercial realities have seemingly put paid to one of the finest BTCC careers (at least for now) as Turkington departs from WSR – and he will be sorely missed. Sutton now stands alone in the race for the record of five titles.

“It’s a shame we’ve lost Colin – but we’ve gained Gordon,” points out Ingram. That will be the sensational return of the season: three-time champion Gordon Shedden, back in the BTCC for the first time since 2022, at 46.

With a sparkle in his eye, Ingram says: “The nice thing with Colin was we knew how he raced. He was incredibly respectful. But we know Gordon is feisty…”

So, who will be champion? Ingram isn’t being complacent, especially after his 2024 near miss. “You can’t rule anyone out of this championship, that’s the beauty of it,” he says. “There could well be a few surprises.

As I’ve learnt the older and uglier I’ve got, you just have to focus on yourself in this game.” 

Volvo is now building its EX30 electric car in Ghent, Belgium, in a strategic move to assemble key models closer to the markets where they sell best.

The small SUV was previously assembled solely in Zhangjiakou, China, before being shipped across the globe. 

However, Volvo decided in October 2023 that adding production capacity for the model in the European Union would help it to better meet demand in that critical region. The EX30 was Europe’s 13th best-selling EV during the first three months of 2025, ahead of cars such as the Audi Q4 E-tron, Cupra Born and Mercedes-Benz EQA.

The decision to prepare the Ghent plant for the EX30 was validated when the European Union last year imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, including the Volvo crossover.

Volvo said at the time that it would consider reallocating output of its cars so that Belgian-built cars were primarily delivered within the EU, circumventing the tariffs.

Conversely, deliveries of Chinese-built cars would ramp up in non-EU markets where the tariffs were not a concern, such as the UK.

“We'll start [EX30] production at our Ghent facility in Belgium in the first half of next year and then ramp up through the gears,” said former Volvo CEO Jim Rowan last year.

“In the meantime, we can supply that car to many other regions which are not yet affected [by tariffs]: a lot of countries in south-east Asia, and the UK is an example of that.”

Francesca Gamboni, chief manufacturing and supply chain officer for Volvo, has now said the EX30 is “crucial” for the brand’s position in Europe, adding that its production flexibility “contributes to our resilience”. 

Adding EX30 production to the Ghent plant came at a cost of €200 million (£171m), requiring a new assembly line, 600 new or refurbished robots and a new battery pack production line, among other changes.

The factory also builds the electric EC40 and EX40, as well as the XC40 and V60 hybrids. 

Volvo had previously planned to launch the EX30 in the US after 2025. However, it has yet to confirm whether this is still the case, in light of US president Donald Trump’s implementation of a blanket 25% tariff on all foreign-built cars.