2011 Range Rover Sport Gt*low Miles*warranty*clean* on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar CEO says people just don't want EVs right now

"Customers are not impressed with it currently." These are the words of one Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, spoke at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Birmingham, England. The "it" Speth is referring to is battery technology, which he characterized as "too heavy, too expensive," and with power density that's "too low." That all could go some way towards explaining why the British automaker has yet to bring an electric vehicle to market, why it killed the C-X75 hybrid-turbine supercar project, and why it only recently started offering hybrid versions of its Range Rover models (and has yet to offer them in the United States). That doesn't mean the company won't pursue electric propulsion in the future, though. According to Automotive News Europe, Speth forecasts that "the next generation of batteries will be higher density, lower weight and the cost will come down." What he didn't say, exactly, is when he expects that next generation of battery tech to come around – or when JLR will start to more closely embrace electric propulsion. In the meantime, Jaguar Land Rover will continue investing in research and development. Since Tata acquired the brands from Ford seven years ago, JLR has quadrupled its R&D budget and doubled the number of engineers on staff. Related Video:

Land Rover plotting high-performance Disco Sport, Evoque

Jaguar Land Rover is getting serious about performance with its new SVR line of high-output machinery. We've already seen the Range Rover Sport SVR, and we're anticipating more to follow with SVR versions of the new Jaguar XE, Range Rover LWB, outgoing Land Rover Defender and plenty more. The lineup will eventually include performance versions of most, but not all of the British automaker's products. But while the smallest Land Rovers may not get the full-on SVR treatment, JLR reportedly has something in the works. According to Australian website Motoring, Land Rover is watching the segment and considering its options. It sees Audi with its SQ5, BMW planning performance versions of the X3 and X4, and Mercedes plotting an AMG version of the GLC that's set to replace the GLK. The question is just what Land Rover will do. Both the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque are based on the same D8 platform that incorporates transversely mounted inline-fours, so fitting something larger might be prohibitive, but a high-output turbo version of the new Ingenium four-cylinder engine design could do the trick. Considering what the likes of Volvo and Mercedes have managed to do with their high-strung turbo fours, Land Rover's approach could prove to be no slouch at all – even without the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 powering the flagship SVR models. In related news, Autovisie – the automotive section of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf – projects that an SVR version of the Jaguar F-Type will be among the high-performance models coming up next. Slotting above the F-Type R with its 550 horsepower, the F-Type SVR will be even more powerful. The Project 7 speedster packaged a 575-hp version of the same supercharged V8, potentially pointing the way forward for future SVR models. Featured Gallery Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Autobiography View 17 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport View 16 Photos News Source: Motoring.com.au, AutovisieImage Credit: Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover SUV Performance jaguar land rover svr

Jaguar Land Rover to cut $6.8 billion in costs

Jaguar Land Rover reduce costs by $6.8 billion and will push annual production volume to 1 million vehicles under a secret project called Leap 4.5, according to Reuters. The British automaker wants to achieve these ambitious goals by the end of the decade to compensate for the changing market in China and to counteract the price of meeting stricter emissions standards around the world. Leap 4.5 won't mean firing workers or cutting the automaker's $4.5 billion annual research budget. JLR will instead find savings by underpinning more models with modular platforms and by adjusting its supply chain. Future factories like the one in Brazil and the proposed plant in Slovakia also won't be affected by the new strategy. Globally, JLR continues to grow, and deliveries are up two percent through October 2015 to 390,965 vehicles. Business just last month was up 24 percent year-over-year to 41,553 units. However, the auto market's downturn in China has taken a bite out the automaker's success because volume dropped there 32 percent in the third quarter, Reuters reported. A global volume of 1 million vehicles will mean more than doubling 2014's 462,678 deliveries, but JLR has made significant investments to boost production recently. In addition to the future factories, it opened its first plant in China last year and an engine assembly site in the UK. The company also signed a deal with Magna Steyr in 2015 to build an upcoming model in Austria. Related Video: