Whitley, West Midlands - Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s largest car maker, is expected to launch its first electric vehicles with an announcement possible as early as 2016.
It follows in the slipstream of Ford which announced earlier this month it is to invest £3 billion (R68 billion) launching 13 new models of electric cars by 2020.
Rivals Porsche and Audi are already working on similar technology.
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Nick Rogers, group engineering director for Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Electric vehicles will absolutely play a role in Jaguar Land Rover’s future product portfolio.
“It is my belief that over the next five years we will see more changes in the automotive world than in the past three decades. Electrification and lightweight technologies are becoming more important than ever.”
Jaguar has already confirmed it will enter the FIA Formula E World Championship in autumn 2016 - the world’s first fully-electric racing series. It will use this to develop and test a new electric engine and apply the research to making a commercially viable mass market version.
EXTREME CONDITIONS
Rogers added: “Formula E will enable us to engineer and test our advanced technologies under extreme performance conditions. The championship’s exciting and pioneering approach is the perfect fit for our brand.”
Industry experts see the move into Formula E as a precursor to bringing out ranges of roadworthy electric cars at both the value end as well as a more premium sports car version.
Jaguar Land Rover has a £3 billion (R68 billion) research and development budget for 2016 and part of this will be spent on developing electric technology.
Ford’s big push into this space will triple the proportion of electric cars in its fleet. The new Ford Focus will have a range of 160km, compared to its current limit of 120km. Its battery will also reach 80 percent charged in just 30 minutes - two hours quicker than the current model.
Ford already sells hybrids - which combine electric and traditional combustion engines - and electric versions of its Focus, C-Max and Lincoln MKZ cars.
Daily Mail