JAGUAR LAND ROVER & BMW GROUP ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION FOR NEXT GENERATION ELECTRIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

5 June 2019

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group today confirmed they are joining forces to develop next generation Electric Drive Units (EDUs) in a move that will support the advancement of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry’s transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future.

  • Jaguar Land Rover and BMW are joining forces to develop next generation electric drive systems
  • Collaboration seeks to advance development of electrification technology to support transition to ACES
  • Joint investment in research & development, engineering and procurement will provide the necessary economies of scale to support increased consumer adoption of electric vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group today confirmed they are joining forces to develop next generation Electric Drive Units (EDUs) in a move that will support the advancement of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry’s transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future.

The strategic collaboration will build on the considerable knowledge and expertise in electrification at both companies. Jaguar Land Rover has demonstrated its leading technical capability in bringing the world’s first premium battery electric SUV to market ‑ the 2019 World Car of the Year, the Jaguar I‑PACE, as well as plug‑in hybrid models; and BMW Group bringing vast experience of developing and producing several generations of electric drive units in‑house since it launched the BMW i3 in 2013.

The transition to ACES represents the greatest technological shift in the automotive industry in a generation. The pace of change and consumer interest in electrified vehicles is gathering real momentum and it’s essential we work across industry to advance the technologies required to deliver this exciting future.

We’ve proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products. It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies’ requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration.

Nick Rogers
Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director

The agreement will enable both companies to take advantage of efficiencies arising from shared research and development and production planning as well as economies of scale from joint procurement across the supply chain.

A team of Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group experts will engineer the EDUs with both partners developing the systems to deliver the specific characteristics required for their respective range of products.

The EDUs will be manufactured by each partner in their own production facilities. For Jaguar Land Rover this will be at its Wolverhampton‑based Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC), which was confirmed as the home for the company’s global EDU production in January of this year. The plant, which employs 1600 people, will be the centre of propulsion system manufacturing offering full flexibility between clean Ingenium petrol and diesel engines and electric units. The EMC will be complemented by the recently announced Battery Assembly Centre at Hams Hall, near Birmingham, in supplying electrified powertrain systems to Jaguar Land Rover’s global vehicle plants.

Further information

For more information visit www.media.jaguarlandrover.com or contact:

Nicola Rzeznik

M: +44 (0) 7596 633788

E: nrzeznik@jaguarlandrover.com

Lisa Palmer

M: +44 (0) 7557 540611

E: lpalmer1@jaguarlandrover.com

Joan Chesney
M: +44 (0) 7467 448 229
E: jchesney@jaguarlandrover.com

Notes to Editors

About Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all‑wheel‑drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.

At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class‑leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2018 Jaguar Land Rover sold 592,708 vehicles in 128 countries.

We support around 260,000 people through our retailer network, suppliers and local businesses. At heart we are a British company, with two major design and engineering sites, three vehicle manufacturing facilities and an engine manufacturing centre in the UK. We also have plants in China, Brazil, India, Austria and Slovakia. 

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will offer the option of electrification, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug‑in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer the latest diesel and petrol engines.

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