Jaguar Land Rover has revealed plans to manufacture a range of new electrified vehicles at its manufacturing plant in Castle Bromwich, UK, as part of its commitment to offer customers electrified options for all new Jaguar and Land Rover models from 2020.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth said: “The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK.
“We are co-locating our electric vehicle manufacture, electronic drive units and battery assembly to create a powerhouse of electrification in the Midlands.”
The first new electric car to be produced at the plant will be Jaguar’s flagship, the XJ.
Speth added: “Convenience and affordability are the two key enablers to drive the uptake of electric vehicles to the levels that we all need. Charging should be as easy as re-fuelling a conventional vehicle.
“Affordability will only be achieved if we make batteries here in the UK, close to vehicle production, to avoid the cost and safety risk of importing from abroad. The UK has the raw materials, scientific research in our universities and an existing supplier base to put the UK at the leading edge of mobility and job creation.”
And he called on government and industry to work together to bring giga-scale battery production to the country. This builds on the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and the government’s Faraday Challenge, to produce next generation battery technology to create smaller, denser, cheaper batteries. This in turn would support and grow the existing supply chain, and make the UK less dependent on materials currently sourced abroad.
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