Jaguar Land Rover Plans to Build Electric Cars after 2020
Jaguar Land Rover announces plans to appease UK consumer demands for all electric vehicles. Following 2020, JLR plans to offer an electric version of every model.Â
Following Independence Day, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reveals in a press release that they plan to produce an electric version of each new model of Jaguar and Land Rover to be sold in the UK. The Jaguar XJ, the UK’s most luxurious and posh sedan, is the first confirmed car ready for conversion. The UK is a very populated place that’s famous for bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the market for environmentally friendly cars to commute in is steadily rising. How nice would it be to cruise English roads in an English electric vehicle (EV)?
The Jaguar XJ will be the first all-electric sedan that JLR plans to and will produce, though, it’s not the first all-electric car they’ve ever made. The Jaguar I-PACE, the world’s first luxury electric SUV and the winner of the 2019 Car of the Year award, served as the fire under the seats of JLR to make more. A lot more. Thankfully, the same hands and minds responsible for such an automotive ring leader will be behind the electric XJ’s as well. This way, all current and future JLR followers will be assured that the EV coming off the assembly line won’t be far behind perfection.
“The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK,” chimes Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover. “We are co-locating our electric vehicle manufacture, Electronic Drive Units and battery assembly to create a powerhouse of electrification in the Midlands.”
If JLR making electric vehicles wasn’t good enough news, it’s been confirmed that producing EV’s will conjure up thousands of UK jobs. The statistics were calculated based on the fact that JLR also wants to make their own batteries and on-board computers, or Electric Drive Units (EDU), in both new and previously established plants. Adding to JLR’s list of UK firsts, the Battery Assembly Plant will be the largest and most technology advanced plant in the country. The ultimate goal behind this change is to make these life-savers affordable to UK residents.
“… Affordability will only be achieved if we make batteries here in the UK, close to vehicle production, to avoid the cost and safety risk of importing from abroad,” confirms Speth. “The UK has the raw materials, scientific research in our universities and an existing supplier base to put the UK at the leading edge of mobility and job creation.”
Secondly, Castle Bromwich, JLR’s home assembly plant in Birmingham, will be extended and changed to accommodate the upcoming production of the electric XJ. Another change brought by JLR is the reworking of the already game changing and home-made Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), which is the software that regulates fuel-consumption to make efficient diesel, gas, and hybrid models.
Something that JLR hopes to see as an outcome to producing their own materials is not only jobs and overall cheaper vehicles, it’s to lessen the country’s dependence on importing from other countries. Apparently, the cost of outsourcing has a big hand in what makes current Jaguar’s more expensive. Therefore, England producing their own materials for their own cars benefits everyone. However, there is a small blemish in these grand plans. What if their EV’s don’t sell? That’s a lot of money (like, multi-millions of British pounds) to lose based on a possible outcome. Though, Jaguar sold 30 percent of the 1.5 million cars in the UK last year, so there’s little concern for diversion of loyalty or interest.
To meet demands, JLR states they place partial responsibility on the UK government and industry, as it will take a giga-scale effort of all three parties to produce enough batteries in time for mass production. Nothing yet has been confirmed about exportation to America, though it would be pretty cool to see an all electric Jag mixed in with the army of Tesla’s.
Photos: Jaguar Land Rover
