Land Rover will adopt front-wheel drive and hybrid technology in a bid to slash CO2 emissions over the next few years.

Although one of Land Rover’s trademarks up to now has been permanent four-wheel drive in all of its vehicles, the move – which will result in a sub-130g/km compact Range Rover in 2011 – is likely to make its products more appealing to fleets.

The new model – based on the LRX concept car – will also be offered as a four-wheel drive model.

Phil Popham, Land Rover managing director said: "Land Rover has announced that the all-new compact Range Rover will be available in 2WD. This is good news for the company and for our customers.

"2WD option is just one way in which we are developing our vehicles efficiency while adding to the Land Rover range and expanding our customer base.

"We will continue to make the 'world's finest all-terrain vehicles' for those customers who require 4WD but will also now offer an alternative to those that don't."

A large diesel hybrid car is also in the pipeline, promising sub-100g/km by 2013.

By the end of 2010 Land Rover will be testing a prototype called the 'range_e' which is being developed using a Range Rover Sport platform.

Tests will use the existing 3.0 litre TDV6 diesel engine featuring an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The goal is to achieve a range of 20 miles using electric power only, emitting less than 100 g/km of CO2 emissions and to achieve a top speed of around 120 mph.