Chery Jaguar Land Rover, the British firm's Chinese arm, has announced a CNY7 billion (£800 million) investment towards the development and production of electric cars in the region.
The joint venture, created by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile in 2012, already produces upwards of 200,000 cars annually at its Changshu facility. This latest investment will transform the factory into a research and manufacturing hub for all of JLR’s future hybrid and electric cars.
The recently revealed second-generation Range Rover Evoque is the first Land Rover model to use a mild hybrid engine, with a plug-in variant due to arrive in 2020, alongside an electric XJ as Jaguar's new flagship saloon. Future models are expected to follow suit, ahead of a 2020 target for making all JLR models either mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric.
The news also follows our earlier report of JLR executives considering turning Jaguar into an EV-only brand, following the warm reception of the Jaguar I-Pace and relative downturn in interest in traditional saloon cars. Land Rover currently plans to launch its first electric car by 2024.
As part of the Chery investment, the existing factory will be refitted, with an electric powertrain plant and vehicle body workshop being joined by a research centre. It will also gain a track for vehicle testing.
Jaguar has already made strong in-roads to electrification with the I-Pace, which was the first electric car from a premium brand to directly challenge Tesla. The I-Pace is currently built under contract by Magna Steyr at its Austrian facility.
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Spelling the end of at least one UK plant?
Well apart from mentioning the relative downturn in traditional saloon cars (is that a hint?) the report makes no mention whatsoever about JLR's British arm.
I still maintain that JLR's Indian owners will act on their desire to close down British factories - something they've been on record as saying as long ago as 2009. Indeed if we look at an Autocar article from 24th Sept 2009... ( way before Brexit was part of the vocabulary for all those who'll no doubt blame the leave campaign )
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/jlr-close-one-midlands-plant
scotty5 wrote:
your scraping the barrel with an article written at the height of the last economic meltdown, written almost a decade ago. JLR asked the government just before the referendum for assurances around infrastructure in the Coventry area as they admitted they were considering building an electric car plant there. Since the referendum discussions went silent. Brexiteers will blame diesel or China for this but investment in electric car production in the U.K. has to happen if JLR intend to make cars here in the future. Clearly they are delaying because of Brexit. Brexiteers harp on the black is blue and blue is black but it’s time they just admitted their plan so will damage some sectors of the economy.
TStag wrote:
Get off your high horse, its bugger all to do with Brexit, as I have pointed out above, they have a crap range of vehicles that nobody wants to buy, and they have been losing money hand over fist becuse they chose to go down the diesel route and got caught with their pants down and no plan B.
Eyes wide shut.
Brexit has nothing to do with it and you know it (but will never admit). Decision to build Slovakian plant taken well after 2009, first brick laid before any vote on Brexit. Brexit may go ahead, we may have new gov, we may have no deal, we may be be out of Europe in name only, we may even remain as an EU member - who knows. Irrespective of what happens, decisions already been taken - wait and see.
Good grief JLR
You are getting kicked in the nuts over diesel sales, why so slow in producing a plugin hybrid?
Rtfazeberdee wrote:
Because their management havent got a clue. They (Jaguar) are still looking for someone or something to blame for them having a range of vehicles that nobody wants to buy, and Landrover are not doing too well either.
Everyone scoffed when Volvo said it was dropping big engines and concentrating on electrification, it seem now most manufacturers with any idea are starting to follow suit, its just JLR dragging its heels.
Well done JLR
Because no-one other than company car drivers looking to get a 330i on the cheap are interested, and most never actually get plugged in.
The idea of the assistive hybrid powertrain coming on the new Evoque is IMO a much better idea to use regenerated energy to charge batteries that help plug the torque curve, improving efficiency on all models. (Except ironically the one with the smallest engine and 2WD...)
EV's are all just hype right now, and we're no where near ready for them with quick charge points few and far between, and many people with parking that won't support easy charging. The loonies are already try to ban parking on pavements, can you imagine them exploding at the thought of tripping every 5 metres on peoples charging cables from the house to car. The irony here being that it's cities where EV's make most sense and it's also where the infrastructure is the hardest to install and where the electricity supplies are already stretched.
And it's still far from clear that the overall carbon and waste footprint and of an EV or PHEV is actually less than their antiquated ICE counterparts given the highly toxic materials in batteries, and the increased demand for powerstations to provide electricity.
They item is to reduce CO2 emmisions, and we should use the best technology available and not just force the current fad on everyone without thinking it through.