Jaguar to invest $18bn in manufacturing electric versions of all its models
Jaguar Land Rover is planning on investing $18bn on building electric vehicles in China in a move to step up its game in the fast-growing EV market.
According to Bloomberg, the car maker is set to offer electronic versions of all its models by 2025 including those powered by fossil fuels if there is enough demand.
The company, which already makes the gasoline-powered E-Pace in China with partner Chery Automobile Co., said on Wednesday they had chosen the Asian giant as the country to produce an EV.
The investment comes even though sales and revenue up to March 2018 did not grow as much as expected. The company attributes this to wariness from consumers to purchase diesel-fueled vehicles in the UK and Europe.
The carmaker added that every hybrid vehicle it launches from 2020 on will have an electrified element.
Bloomberg reported Murray Dietsch, president of the joint venture, saying on Wednesday: “Our expectation is the penetration of EV will continue to grow more than linearly,” Dietsch said. “With the combination of the enhancement in SUV market and the expectation of higher penetration of battery-electric vehicles, you will see more battery-electric SUVs in the market in the future.”
The partnership plans to produce one new EV in China annually over the next three to five years, he said.
Jaguar also said it plans to open a software, information technology and engineering center in Manchester, to work on technology developments.