Jaguar Land Rover cuts capacity by 25%

Jaguar Land Rover cuts production by a quarter over the next five years, Automobile News Reports. The news came via an investor presentation.

If there’s a popular JLR machine that you know and love, don’t worry too much – the brand’s cuts are mostly going to come in the form of projects that have been announced but not yet started, like the Jaguar XJ sedan which it already reported will not happen.

JLR has promised to keep all of its manufacturing facilities – it’s just sort of paving the way for future development, especially when it comes to the production of electric vehicles. Jaguar will be fully electric by 2025, and Land Rover will join the party by 2039. JLR is likely to take those resources and channel them into creating a unique style of electrification.

This news also comes in the wake of New CEO Thierry Bolloré announces that JLR’s breakeven point in terms of car sales has risen from 600,000 to 400,000. If you have the flexibility to rework your operation, now is a good time to do it.

Automotive News also reported that JLR was looking to partner with an outside company to create this fully electric platform. It would be very expensive to try to create this platform in-house; it takes a lot of research and trial and error before automakers are really in a position to hone their electric vehicle base; JLR will have to find this external partner if it wants to have a fully electric Jaguar range by 2025. According to Bolloré, the decision to work with a partner “was a question of scale and speed to launch into the market . “

It makes sense. Ford has done the same by using Volkswagen’s electric-only MBE platform to develop its new host of electric vehicles. Companies that have gotten a head start in developing electric platforms will stand to benefit, as other automakers now realize they will need a solid foundation on which to build their next carbon-free plans.