Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover plans to invest $18.65 bn in electric push

Tata Motors-owned British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Wednesday said it plans to invest 15 billion pounds ($18.65 billion) over the next five years to expand its electric-vehicle offerings.

JLR added that its Halewood plant in Merseyside, UK, will become an all-electric manufacturing facility.

The carmaker said it would also launch a new all-electric Range Rover SUV in 2025 and order books for that vehicle would open later this year.

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Premium German rivals Mercedes and BMW have already rolled out a number of electric models - BMW alone has promised 11 new EV models in China by the end of the year.

JLR launched its well received electric I-Pace in 2018, but has since not launched any other zero-emission models.

The new Jaguar will be built at the carmaker's Solihull plant in central England and will be the first of three new electric models.

In an update to global media at JLR’s centre in Gaydon, Chief Executive Adrian Mardell reaffirmed the business’s commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the company as an electric-first, modern luxury carmaker by 2030, as JLR makes strides towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash positive position by FY25 and double-digit EBIT by 2026. 

JLR confirmed it will start to invite applications for client orders for the modern luxury all-electric Range Rover from later this year. 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 in Merseyside

JLR CEO Adrian Mardell said: “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 record demand. We 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. 

“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. This investment enables us to deliver our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be net zero carbon by 2039.”

JLR also announced that the first of three reimagined modern luxury Jaguars will be a 4-door GT built in Solihull in the West Midlands, UK. With power output more than any previous Jaguar, a range up to 700 kms (430 miles), and with indicative pricing from £100,000, new Jaguar will be built on its own unique architecture, named JEA. More details of the new 4-door GT Jaguar will be released later this year, before going on sale in selected markets in 2024, for client deliveries in 2025.

JLR CEO Adrian Mardell said: “With Range Rover, the original luxury SUV, available for pre-order in pure electric form later this year, and the first of three breath-taking electric reimagined Jaguar models to be launched in 2025, we are stepping into an incredibly exciting new electric era for JLR as a modern luxury business.”

JLR reported a quarterly profit in January, but has been hit harder than other major carmakers by the pandemic and the semiconductor chip shortage - as larger rivals have greater leverage on suppliers.

In its fiscal 2022 year ending March 31 last year, JLR sold 376,381 units, 39% below its fiscal 2018 year - the last year for which it reported a full-year profit.

JLR also said it was targeting a double-digit margin for earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by 2026. Its last quarterly EBIT margin - a key measure of profitability - was 3.7%.

With inputs from Reuters