British automaker JLR is doubling down on a long-term electric and digital strategy which will see the company invest £15 billion and reskill over 11,300 employees.
JLR – or better known as Jaguar Land Rover before it moved to a “House of Brands” approach last month – says it will invest £15 billion over the next five years as part of its “electrification and digital transformation.”
Over 11,300 employees and partners will also be reskilled for electrification with a further 11,625 already in training. Meanwhile, JLR’s Halewood plant in the UK will be modified to become an all-electric manufacturing facility.
The steps being planned by JLR are part of its longer-term strategies to become carbon net zero across its supply chain, products, and operations by 2039, and an electrification strategy which will ensure its Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender brands each have a pure electric model by 2030.
Also by 2030, the company’s most iconic and prestigious brand, Jaguar, will become entirely electric.
JLR unveiled some of its plans last month, which also promised that the company’s next generation medium-size SUV architecture “electrified modular architecture (EMA)” would now be pure-electric.
In the nearer future, JLR is promising to make available for pre-order its first pure electric Range Rover later this year, ahead of the first of three reimagined modern luxury electric Jaguars which will be unveiled in 2024. The first will be a 4-door GT and will be built in Solihull, UK.
JLR announced in late 2021 an all-electric Range Rover which it planned to launch in 2024, but it looks as if this date has been pushed back to a 2025 launch.
Built on the company’s flexible modular longitudinal architecture (MLA), the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will be available not only as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) but also as an ICE and hybrid model.
“JLR delivered a strong set of results for the fourth quarter,” said Adrian Mardell, JLR’s interim CEO.
“We increased production and delivered revenue, profit, free cash flow and wholesales growth as chip supply continued to improve.
“With the collective strength of our people, we will continue to deliver our Reimagine strategy. Demand for our exceptional modern luxury vehicles remains strong and with a pipeline of ultra-desirable electrified models on the horizon, I am excited and confident for our future.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.