Jaguar Land Rover Racing Ahead with Electrification

Dr Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The technology we are developing on the track allows us to deliver thrilling electric vehicles to our customers. The pace of change is exhilarating and we want to go above and beyond for our customers. From 2020 every new Jaguar Land Rover vehicle will be electrified. Customers will be able to choose from battery electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid power as well as ultra-clean petrol and diesel engines.

“Future mobility will not be boring. Our products will have passion and emotion as well as being distinctive, desirable and capable as they have always been and will stand out from the crowd.”

The new Land Rover Discovery SVX – the most adventurous member of the Discovery family – also made its global debut at the Frankfurt show. Land Rover’s most extreme and capable production vehicle has increased ground clearance, a specially tuned terrain response system for hardcore off-road capability and is powered by a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine. The SVX will be hand-assembled by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division and will be available for customers in 2018.

Six Jaguar Land Rover vehicles made their show debuts at Frankfurt: the Land Rover Discovery SVX; the new Jaguar ‘cub’, the E-PACE compact performance SUV, sibling of the Jaguar F-PACE; the Jaguar XE Project 8, the most powerful Jaguar ever built with 600bhp for supercar performance; the Jaguar XJR575, the fastest-ever version of the flagship XJ saloon; the I-PACE electric racecar and Jaguar XF Sportbrake.

In addition to the reveal of SVX, a range of product updates were announced for Discovery. Land Rover’s premium SUV is now available with Jaguar Land Rover’s efficient 300PS four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine. The advanced powerplant uses Continuously Variable Valve Lift (CVVL) technology to optimise efficiency and a twin-scroll turbocharger with ceramic bearings for smooth responses and reduced friction. The new engine produces 400Nm of torque and CO2 emissions from 219g/km.

In addition, Discovery gains new technologies including a 12.3-inch Interactive Driver Display TFT instrument cluster. The state-of-the-art high-resolution panel provides contemporary graphics that create the impression of 3D surfaces with exceptional clarity and allow the driver to personalise the visual display around the two main dials.

All derivatives of the latest Discovery also feature Touch Pro infotainment with Jaguar Land Rover’s state-of-the-art 10-inch touchscreen interface on the centre console. Digital connectivity is enhanced with the introduction of 4G Wi-Fi, providing superior connection speeds for up to eight mobile devices on the move.

Second-generation head-up display technology also provides a full-colour display and wider functionality, even projecting 4x4 information and improved navigation displays onto the windscreen ahead of the driver, while Cabin Air Ionisation is available on Discovery for the first time, delivering improved interior air quality for enhanced passenger well-being.

Jaguar Land Rover’s latest sales figures (to 31 August 2017), show an encouraging customer response to the company’s innovative product portfolio.

Retail sales in the calendar year to date were 401,565 (up 8% on 2016). This was led by the 2017 World Car of the Year and Women’s Car of the Year award-winning Jaguar FPACE (more than double the performance in its launch year), following a sequence of successful market launches. There was continuing strong demand for well-established models such as the flagship Range Rover (up 11%) and freshly launched models such as the long-wheelbase Jaguar XFL in China (boosting global XF sales by 15%).

Sales were up year-on-year in China (28%) and North America (13%), while remaining stable in Europe and in the UK (up 1% and 4% respectively).

Revenue for the last quarter (April to June 2017) was £5.6 billion, up £244 million. Profit before tax was £595 million, up from £399 million in Q1 2016, including a £437 million oneoff credit relating to recent changes improving the sustainability of the company’s defined benefit pension plans. This was offset by the expected seasonality of sales in Q1 following a strong Q4 of 2016/17, plus the continuation of launch and growth costs.

In the 2017/18 financial year, Jaguar Land Rover plans to invest more than £4 billion in exciting new products, innovative technologies, and increasing manufacturing capacity.

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