Carmaker follows Volvo in spelling an end for petrol or diesel-only cars, despite not making any electric vehicles at present
Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest large carmaker to say it will stop building cars solely powered by internal combustion engines, two months after Volvo pledged to do so, reports The Guardian.
The UK-based manufacturer promised that all new vehicles from 2020 will be fully electric or hybrid, a year later than Volvo’s target, but a big step beyond its unveiling last November of a single electric concept car.
The plan comes after the Scottish government said it would take action to phase out the need for petrol and diesel cars by 2032, eight years earlier than the UK and French targets of banning sales of new cars with internal combustion engines.
Dr Ralf Speth, JLR’s chief executive, said: “Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice.”
While Speth has said he sees battery-powered cars as a way to grow its global workforce of 40,000, the emissions of the carmaker’s petrol and diesel vehicles mean it has to go electric to meet stringent new European carbon targets.
Average CO2 emissions from JLR cars were 164g (5.8oz) per kilometrein 2015, well above the UK average of 121.4g. More importantly, they are a long way from the 95g target a manufacturer must hit by 2021.
Prof David Bailey, an automotive expert at Aston University, said the company had been slow to wake up to electric vehicles.
“Jaguar are playing catchup – Tesla has stolen a chunk of their lunch, BMW are way ahead as well,” he said.
“The premium end of things is moving more quickly [towards electrification] in part because electric car costs are higher at the moment because of battery costs, so they can absorb that. It’s also because they are heavily dependent on diesel and the market is moving away from diesel.”
JLR, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Tata, makes no electric cars but plans to begin building production versions of its battery-powered SUV next year.
The I-Pace will have a range of 310 miles (500km), putting it on a par with competition from US-based Tesla and ahead of cheaper options such as the new Nissan Leaf, unveiled on Wednesday.
JLR has indicated that it would like to build an electric car plant in the UK, similar to Nissan’s Sunderland facility, where the Leaf is built, but it is yet to make a concrete commitment.
Such a move would be a significant boost to the British car industry and follow on the heels of BMW, which in July pledged to build its electric Mini in Oxford. Jaguar sold more than 583,000 cars in 136 countries last year.
Beyond the I-Pace, the electric vehicles in JLR’s range will include an updated version of its classic E-Type and a driverless concept car known as the Future-Type, which has a steering wheel that talks to you.
Industry watchers had spotted earlier this year that the company had trademarked a series of car names suggesting hybrid or fully electric models.
Governments keen to tackle air pollution and cut carbon emissions are driving electric car production, alongside falling battery prices.
However, a report found that on average, 1.7 per cent of carmakers’ sales were electric vehicles, compared with their own target of 3.6 per cent.
