The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Jaguar Land Rover

  • Jaguar launches Land Rover electric cars 2020

    Jaguar launches Land Rover electric cars 2020

    All new Jaguar Land Rover cars will be available in an electric or hybrid version from 2020, Britain’s biggest carmaker said on Thursday as it speeds up plans to electrify its model range.

    Last year the company, owned by India’s Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), said it would offer greener versions of half of its new line-up by 2020, but it has now ramped up its plans.

    Demand for electric models continues to rise sharply and in July Britain said it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 to cut pollution, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens.

  • Jaguar Land Rover wants to build electric cars in Britain

    Britain’s biggest carmarker Jaguar Land Rover said it wants to build electric cars in Britain in what would be a further boost to the UK automotive sector after the Brexit vote.

    The Indian-owned carmaker built just under a third of Britain’s 1.6 million cars last year and showcased its first electric car earlier this month, which will be built in Austria.

    But Chief Executive Ralf Speth suggested that the Indian-owned automaker, which operates three car plants in central and northern England, could bring further production to Britain.

    “We want to build our EVs (electric vehicles) in the West Midlands, in the home of our design and engineering,” Speth told an industry meeting on Thursday evening according to a spokeswoman.

    Speth told Reuters in September it made sense to build electric batteries and cars in its home market if the conditions, including pilot testing and support from science, were right.

    Britain announced an extra 390 million pounds ($485 million) of funding to support autonomous and green technologies earlier this week, following on from a raft of proposals designed to promote the country as a hub for innovation over recent years.

    Jaguar Land Rover said it would not comment on when electric cars would be built in Britain or on potential job creation.

    Any new production would be seen as a further boost to the automotive sector after Japanese carmaker Nissan said it would build two new models at the country’s biggest car plant following a promise of government support.

    After Nissan sought a promise of compensation in the event of Brexit-imposed costs to its car production, Speth told Reuters that his firm wanted “fair treatment” and a “level playing field” from the government.

    Jaguar Land Rover wants half its cars to be available in an electric version by the end of the decade, after showcasing its first electric car at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month.

  • Jaguar Land Rover reports record sales in Europe

    Jaguar Land Rover reported record sales last year as the brand’s revival under India’s Tata Motors continued.

    JLR’s global volume rose 24 percent to 487,065 as gains in Europe and the U.S. offset falling demand in China, the company said in a statement.

    New models such as the Jaguar XE and Land Rover Discovery Sport boosted sales, JLR sales chief Andy Goss said in the statement.

    Mainland Europe was the company’s largest sales region with volume up 28 percent to 110,298. Sales in the UK, the company’s biggest single market, rose by 21 percent to 100,636. JLR’s volume in North America increased by 25 percent to 94,066.

    Volume in China fell 24 percent to 92,474 as sales were hit by a slowing market and a major industrial explosion at the Chinese port of Tianjin in last August that destroyed JLR models stored there.

    Land Rover accounted for the bulk of JLR sales with record sales of 403,079, up six percent on the year before.

    Jaguar has its strongest year in a decade with volume up by three percent to 83,986. The brand’s best year was 2002 when it sold 103,000 units shortly after the launch of the X-Type. Jaguar expects its new XE and XF sedans, and F-Pace SUV, to lift sales this year. Analysts IHS Automotive forecasts Jaguar sales to reach 200,000 by 2018.

    JLR has said it expects to increase sales to about 850,000 by 2020 as it adds new models and expands production abroad.

    The company plans to open a factory in Slovakia in 2018 and will this year start production of the Land Rover Discovery Sport in a new plant in Brazil. The company opened a factory in China in 2014. The plant builds the Range Rover Evoque.

    “With China slowing even further, 2016 may be a difficult year for Jaguar Land Rover,” said Deepesh Rathore, director at Emerging Markets Automotive Advisors. “The good news for JLR is that their portfolio and volumes are still small and so, as they add new models, they will continue growing, albeit at a slower pace.”

    JLR’s best-seller last year was the Range Rover Evoque compact SUV with global sales of just over 108,000, down 13 percent on the year before. In second place was the Range Rover Sport large SUV with sales up six percent to 87,319. No. 3 was the Land Rover Discovery Sport with sales of 69,501.

    Last year was JLR’s its sixth consecutive year of sales gains after Tata Motors, which bought the automaker from Ford Motor in 2008, invested heavily in the company’s revival.

  • Jaguar Land Rover to create 1,300 jobs

    Jaguar Land Rover to create 1,300 jobs

    Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to create 1,300 new jobs as it continues to accelerate its industry-leading expertise in aluminium and lightweight technologies. The news came following confirmation that the UK’s largest manufacturing investor will add a further new Jaguar model to its product portfolio –the Jaguar F-PACE. This performance crossover, set to go on sale in 2016, follows the Jaguar XE into the new facilities within the world-renowned Solihull plant.

    This latest announcement from the Detroit auto show will see Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull manufacturing plant continue to develop its world-class capability in aluminium vehicle construction for which the company is synonymous. It also marks the start of an incredible year for the British manufacturer who will deliver 12 significant product actions in the next 12 months alone.

    Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer Dr Ralf Speth described the announcements as demonstration to the advancement of a high-tech, high skilled, manufacturing-led economy.

    “Jaguar Land Rover,” he said, “is committed to delivering more great products. It is that innovation and relentless quest for new technologies that sets our products apart. We want to offer customers greater choice, with even more exciting vehicles, crafted with that special British flair. We want to improve the quality of life for our customers and for our own employees, creating opportunities for more people to be part of the Jaguar Land Rover experience.”

    To support the introduction of its new aluminium and lightweight technologies Jaguar Land Rover has already invested £1.5bn. The new facilities represent the largest single investment in the Solihull plant in its 70-year history and created an impressive ‘factory within a factory’.

    Incorporating Europe’s largest aluminum body shop and final assembly hall – collectively the size of 22 football pitches, the new state-of-the-art facilities bring the Jaguar brand to Solihull for the first time, and continues to showcase the company’s pioneering leadership in aluminum vehicle construction which dates back to 2003 with the introduction of the seventh generation Jaguar XJ.