New Delhi: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday said it will invest 15 billion pounds (about Rs 153 crore) over the next five years to enhance its industrial footprint, introduce new models and to bolster technology in its range. The British brand said its Halewood plant in the UK will become an all-electric production facility and its next generation medium-size SUV architecture, electrified modular architecture (EMA), will now be pure-electric.
JLR Chief Executive Adrian Mardell reaffirmed the business’ commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the company as an electric-first, modern luxury carmaker by 2030, as the automaker makes stride towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash positive position by FY25 and double-digit EBIT by 2026.
“Two years ago, we launched our Reimagine strategy and since then we have made great progress, including launching two new critically acclaimed modern luxury Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, joining the Defender family, for which there is a record demand,” Mardell noted.
The company achieved this while navigating the headwinds of the pandemic and chip shortages, and successfully ramping up production of our most profitable models to deliver profit in Q3, he added.
“Today, I am proud to announce we are accelerating our electrification path, making one of our UK plants and our next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric,” Mardell said.
Further, he said: “This investment enables to deliver our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be net zero carbon by 2039.”
The first of its next generation medium-size modern luxury SUVs will be an all-electric model from the Range Rover family, launching in 2025 and built at Halewood, it added.
JLR also revealed that its engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, UK, currently producing internal combustion engines for its vehicles, will have an electric future producing electric drive units and battery packs for company’s next generation vehicles.
It will be renamed as the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre to reflect the move, it added.
