Jaguar Land Rover To Offer Electrified Options In All Cars By 2020

This ramped up target topples the one shared by the British carmaker last year, which was to offer ‘greener’ iterations of half of its new lineup by the end of the decade

In July 2017, we learnt that the UK is on its way to ban the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles from the year 2040. This news came in a number of months after the British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced its plans to electrify half of its new lineup by 2020. That target, however, has now been revised by JLR as the Coventry-based auto giant is prepping to offer ‘greener’ iterations of all its cars by the end of this decade.

Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, reiterated the fact by saying, “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles.”

JLR showcased the concept of its first electric model last year in the form of the I-Pace. This model will be built in JLR’s production facility in Austria which, unlike the production house in the company’s homeland, is fully equipped to manufacture electric cars. The British automaker, which produced 5.5 lakh out of the 17 lakh cars produced in UK last year, has said that it wants to build electric models in its home market. However, a number of factors must be in place first, primarily the support from the government and academia.

Even if the support comes from the relevant bodies, the company could still face the implications of Brexit, which could leave its car exports tackling lengthy customer delays and tariffs of up to 10 per cent. This, in turn, would have adverse effects on the feasibility of vehicle production in the UK.

Apart from JLR, all major carmakers across the globe are also working towards a greener, safer and autonomous future of transportation. Joining the transformation journey include tech giants like Google, Apple and Bosch. In recent times, extensive testing of electric, autonomous vehicles has been on the rise. 

Japanese carmaker Nissan unveiled the next-gen, all-electric Leaf a few days ago. The company has confirmed that the new model will be tested extensively in India. Will this be the stepping stone for our country to achieve its super-ambitious target of all-electric transportation by 2030? We sure hope so.