Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors, plans to finance over Rs 1 lakh crore in zero-emission battery EVs. The investment will take place over the next five years.
The luxury brands will introduce electric vehicles based on three different vehicle designs within one year. Well! It marks the beginning of a major change at the company.
During Investor Day on Wednesday, Jaguar Land Rover’s top management presented plans to invest more than £18 billion (about Rs 1.9 lakh crore) in the luxury car brand over the next five years. Also, 60% of the investment will go to battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Thomas Muller, ED, product engineering at JLR mentioned:
We are in the delivery phase of our electrified future with physical testing underway across all three architectures. Our investment in our highly skilled global team and testing infrastructure will deliver our commitment to customer love.
The company will launch vehicles on:
- MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture): It’s a platform that can manufacture internal combustion engine vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles.
- EMA (Electrified Modular Architecture): It is for pure battery electric vehicles. Moreover, Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle business will also use this platform.
- JEA (Jaguar’s Electrified Architecture): It is exclusively for Jaguar vehicles. The design is tailored for the renowned British brand transitioning to EVs.
Return of the JLR Freelander
Land Rover produced the Freelander model from 1997 to 2015. However, the company discontinued and substituted it with the Discovery Sport in 2016. But now, almost ten years after stopping the production of the car, JLR plans to reintroduce it as an EV in China.
The British carmaker has made a licensing agreement with its Chinese joint venture with Cherry Automobile to produce electric models branded as Freelander.
Initially, JLR plans to manufacture and sell the e-SUV in China. And then, the company will export these models to different global markets, according to a statement from JLR.
Chery manufactures the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar E-Pace, and long-wheelbase XF and XE sedans for the Chinese market.
Through their ongoing 12-year partnership, the two companies plan to enhance their product lineup with a new series of custom-made electric vehicles. Also, Freelander will strengthen JLR’s position in China’s market, which is experiencing a rapid increase in EV adoption among luxury vehicles.
Wrapping Up
JLR aims to transition the Jaguar brand to all-electric vehicles by 2025. By the end of the decade, they expect 60% of their vehicles to be electric, amounting to about Rs 1.08 lakh crore in investment.
Also, the company plans to release the Range Rover Electric and its first Jaguar EV in 2025. Currently, the Range Rover Electric has received orders for over 38,000 vehicles.
