Jaguar Land Rover Spends Wholesale on VE Production in China

Jaguar Land Rover will transform its Changshu plant into an R & D and manufacturing facility for upcoming electric vehicles in China.

As part of the ongoing partnership between Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chery Automobile, a major investment has been announced to strengthen future JLR electrified models in China. Coach reports that the group's efforts will invest CNY 7 billion (£ 800 million), which equates to more than one billion US dollars. The funds will be used to transform the current manufacturing facilities of the joint effort into a site exclusively dedicated to electric and hybrid vehicles. It will include an electric powertrain center, a body shop and a new test track for vehicles.

JLR teamed up with Chery in 2012. The two manufacturers are working together to produce some 200,000 vehicles a year at the Changshu production site. JLR plans to launch a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque hybrid plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2019 or 2020, as well as a fully electric Jaguar XJ sedan at about the same time. In addition, by 2020, JLR claims that each of its models will be either hybrid soft, plug-in hybrid or electric.

Unfortunately, the lightweight hybrid configuration is not a plug-in, nor more than an ICE vehicle with a larger battery. We can only hope that the manufacturer does not intend to follow this path with the majority of its vehicles. On the positive side, the all-new Jaguar I-Pace 2019 is proof that JLR has what it takes to produce a convincing and award-winning EV.

Jaguar is considering switching to a brand that produces only electric vehicles. In addition, Land Rover does not intend to launch its first 100% electric vehicle before 2024.

Source: Coach

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