Jaguar Land Rover will only produce electric vehicles from 2020

In the same week that it accelerated a commitment to reuse aluminium from end-of-life vehicles in new products, UK automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that from 2020 all new vehicle models will be electric.


JLR has announced that from 2020 it will stop the production of petrol or diesel cars to focus on fully electric or hybrid vehicles, despite not have any commercial electric vehicles (EVs) at present.

“Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice,” JLR’s chief executive Ralf Speth said. “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles. Our first fully electric performance SUV, the Jaguar I-PACE, goes on sale next year.”

JLR has confirmed that an E-type vehicle will be produced that keeps the design of class roadsters. A pure electric SUV I-PACE will go on sale next year. JLR also unveiled its vision for 2040 and beyond. The Future-type concept is a fully autonomous EV designed to be “shared not owned”.

The announcement represents a quick transition into the EV market for JLR. The UK-based car maker is already trialling real-world tests of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) across the country over the next four years in a bid to reduce congestion, and only unveiled its first electric concept vehicle in November last year.

Future realities 

JLR’s EV pledge arrives just two months after Swedish car manufacturer Volvo issued a similar pledge to ensure that every new vehicle from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor. At a national level, both the UK and Scottish governments are gearing up for the expansion of EVs, with diesel and petrol cars and vans to be phased out in Scotland by 2032, eight years earlier than the UK Government’s target

As JLR begins production of EVs, consumers will also benefit from the company’s ongoing circular economy drive. Earlier this week, JLR launched the £2m REALITY programme, an expansion on its closed-loop aluminium recycling programme.

It builds on the REALCAR (REcycled ALuminium CAR) project, launched by JLR in 2008 and funded by Innovate UK, which sought to create a closed-loop value chain to recycle vehicles at the end of their lifecycles. The original project enabled JLR to reclaim more than 75,000 tonnes of aluminium for reuse.

With more manufacturers moving into the EV market, concerns are rising that the UK might not have the charging infrastructure to act as a market leader. On Wednesday (6 September), both the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and Good Energy called for better charging infrastructure in response to Nissan’s announcement that it was producing a longer-range LEAF model

Matt Mace

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