BMW and Jaguar Land Rover collaborate on electric
The industry is moving to an 'Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared' future - JLR and BMW are heading there together
In the past few decades, both Jaguar and BMW have proven themselves exceptionally good at producing combustion engines; in the past few years they've shown a similar level of aptitude in developing EV powertrains, too. The i3, after all, was genuinely ground-breaking for the industry, and the I-Pace has just won three awards at International Engine of the Year.
Now comes the announcement of the two brands collaborating for future electric vehicles. Or rather, "joining forces to develop next generation Electric Drive Units, in a move that will support the advancement of if electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry's transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future."
The engineering of future EDUs will be a joint effort between BMW and JLR, with the pair "developing the systems to deliver the specific characteristics required for their respective range of products." They will be built at separate locations too, with Jaguar's drive units sharing factory space with the Ingenium engines at Wolverhampton.
Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director said of the decision: "We've proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products. It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies' requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration."
It's unclear yet just when these first jointly-developed electric powertrains will make it to BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover production cars, but given the furious pace with which the industry is electrifying, expect them sooner rather than later. Best get prepared for your ACES automotive future as soon as possible...
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff