As it prepares a blueprint to step up play in electric vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover is keen on having control of key parts of the supply chain network including the batteries that support EV production.
The two Tata Motors-owned British luxury auto brands have announced elaborate plans of transitioning to electric vehicles over the course of nine years. The company aims to make Jaguar all-electric within the next four years and have 60 percent of Land Rover products run on batteries by 2030.
Since JLR presently has just one model running on batteries (Jaguar I-Pace) the company considers it vital to secure critical components such as semiconductors and battery cells before stepping on the gas for the electric vehicles program.
When asked if JLR would explore having a battery cell manufacturing unit Thierry Bollore, chief executive officer, Jaguar Land Rover said that the company is exploring all possibilities.
Speaking to analysts Bollore said, “With the evolution of mobility and technology it is very clear that our strategic intention and plan is to make sure we have the key control points of the new value chain. Not only to secure our supplies to make sure we have the highest level of technology but also to enjoy maximum added value from these new control points of the value chain. So, we are exploring all possibilities to play our role in this new value chain and be at the forefront of it to get maximum advantage.”
As per the Reimagine plan announced in mid-February this year JLR intends to transform Jaguar as an all-electric luxury brand from 2025 besides having six fully electric Land Rovers by 2026 with the first one debuting in 2024. Jaguar and Land Rover will offer pure electric power, nameplate by nameplate, by 2030.
“We are exploring all possibilities and we want to be on the right value chain including the (battery) cell. So, we are looking at all possibilities to make that happen. And we are exploring the business cases”, Bollore reiterated, responding to a similar question from another analyst.
According to BloombergNEF's lithium-ion battery supply chain ranking, China controlled 80 percent of the world’s raw material refining, 77 percent of the world’s cell capacity and 60 percent of the world’s component manufacturing in 2020.
In 2020, Jaguar ran into battery supply issues for the I-Pace SUV. Though JLR never confirmed the identity of the battery supplier, industry sources identified LG Chem, the largest chemical company from Korea, to be the supplier for the I-Pace.
In March, Mercedes-Benz, one of the world’s biggest luxury auto companies, announced the start of production of high-performance batteries for its all-electric EQS. The German giant is also planning a new factory for the small-series production of future lithium-ion battery cells, starting operations in 2023.