As expected, Jaguar Land Rover had a massive electrification announcement for its Castle Bromwich plant in the UK.
The Tata Motors-owned automaker today revealed plans to build a range of new electrified vehicles at the facility, the first of which will be the next-generation all-electric Jaguar XJ luxury sedan. JLR did not say what other electrified models will be built at the plant, but rumor has it the Range Rover and Jaguar F-Type will be the next to get the EV treatment.
Interestingly, the announcement is made the same day production of the current-generation XJ in Castle Bromwich comes to an end. JLR promises that the new XJ will build on its predecessor’s heritage bringing together “beautiful design, intelligent performance, and revered luxury.”
The all-electric XJ will be created by the same team of designers and product development specialists responsible for JLR’s first purely electric model, the I-Pace electric SUV. The electric luxury sedan will be based on JLR’s next-generation Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) which supports full electric and hybrid models as well as efficient diesel and petrol powertrains.
A Jaguar Land Rover presentation recently revealed that electric vehicles based on the MLA platform will have a 90.2 kWh battery pack that will provide a range of up to 292 miles (470 km). According to the same presentation, plug-in hybrid variants based on the architecture will have a 13.1 kWh battery and a pure electric range of up to 31 miles (50 km).
Work to transform the Castle Bromwich plant will begin later this month with the installation of all-new facilities and technologies required to support the MLA platform. The announcement secures the future of the Castle Bromwich plant along with several thousand jobs in the UK.
It also represents the next stage of JLR’s electrification strategy. In January, the company confirmed plans to build batteries and Electric Drive Units (EDU) in the Midlands by investing in new and existing facilities.
The new Battery Assembly Centre at Hams Hall will become operational in 2020 and will become “the most innovative and technologically advanced in the UK with an installed capacity of 150,000 units.” It will be complemented by the Wolverhampton Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC), home of Jaguar Land Rover’s global EDU production.
JLR aims to offer its customers electrified options for all new Jaguar and Land Rover models from 2020.