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Jaguar Land Rover may build factory in Saudi Arabia

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing markets for Land Rover, so it makes sense that the automaker is looking to set up shop in the region. According to Automotive News, Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with the people of Saudi Arabia to build a factory in the country at an expected initial cost of $1.2 billion. Still in the early stage of talks, the proposed facility could start up by 2017 using locally sourced materials such as steel and aluminum.
Such an arrangement could be beneficial for both entities as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its oil-reliant economy and Land Rover could get local production capacity of around 50,000 units. The report also says that the agreement talks about the possibility for Jaguar models to be built at the same plant further down the road.
This won't be the first vehicle produced in Saudi Arabia - that honor goes to the KSU Gazal-1 - but it will be the first from a major global automaker.

Jaguar Land Rover will electrify all new models after 2020 — and maybe some old ones

Just as Volvo did earlier this year, Jaguar and Land Rover announced a date after which all new models introduced will be electrified. That date is 2020, a year after Volvo, and JLR's definition of electrification is very similar to Volvo's, including full electrics, plug-in hybrids, and mild hybrids. Whether the British automaker's mild hybrids will be something like the 48-volt start-stop function on the Audi A8 or a more conventional hybrid has yet to be announced. Regardless, internal combustion engines won't disappear from the Jaguar and Land Rover lineups yet, and there's still a couple of years before the start date for the companies to sneak in a fully gasoline or diesel model if they wish. And on the flip side, there's nothing stopping the companies from releasing EVs or hybrids before the start date, which is exactly what Jaguar is doing with the I-Pace. Jaguar reiterated that the electric crossover will go on sale in 2018. View 11 Photos Jaguar specifically isn't just looking at electrifying future cars, but also possibly classic cars. Jaguar Land Rover Classic revealed its fully electric E-Type concept. The vintage car department took a first-generation model and created a battery pack and electric powertrain that could fit in the car, leaving as much original as possible, including the way it drives. The battery pack and motor are mounted up front, with power sent to the rear, and they weigh roughly the same and fill roughly the same space as the old straight-six engine. This keeps weight distribution the same, makes packaging easy, and should keep the driving experience roughly the same as the old car — though the electrified version is faster. Jaguar claims a 0-62 mph time of 5.5 seconds, which is about a second quicker than the gas-powered model. It also has a range of 170 miles and a charging time of around 6 to 7 hours. Other changes include an updated interior with touchscreen infotainment, carbon fiber dash, and LCD instruments. Jaguar said this electric conversion is just a concept right now, which could be just as well. We're not sure many E-Type owners would line up to replace their old six- and 12-cylinder engines. After all, part of the appeal of those cars is the sound of the engine, and stirring a manual gearbox.

Why this could be the perfect time for Apple to make a car play

While the automotive and technology worlds have been pouring billions into autonomous vehicles (AVs) and preparing to bring them to market soon as shared robo-taxis, Apple has mostly sat on the sidelines. Of course, Apple is the last company to ever make its intentions known, and the super-secret tech cult giant hasn't been totally out of the AV game based on the clues that have slipped out of its Cupertino, Calif., citadel over the past few years. Related: Apple self-driving cars are real — one was just in an accident News first broke in 2015 that it had assembled an automotive development team, in part by poaching high-profile talent from car companies, to work on a top-secret self-driving vehicle project code-named Titan. (Thank you very much, Nissan.) Apple also subsequently broke cover by making inquiries into using a Northern California AV testing facility and receiving a permit to test AVs on public roads in California. But then as the AV race started to heat up in the last few years, Apple reportedly began scaling back its car activities by downsizing team Titan. More recently, Apple's car project has shown signs of life with the hiring a high-level engineer away from Waymo and luring one Tesla's top engineers and a former employee back to Apple. It also inked a deal with Volkswagen to provide a technology platform and software to convert the automaker's new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for employees at tech company's new campus. That is a far cry from giving rides to Wal-Mart shoppers, like Waymo is doing as part of its AV testing in Phoenix. But this could be the perfect time for Apple to enter the AV market now that ride-sharing is reaching critical mass and automakers and others are planning to deploy fleets of robo-taxis. Apple could easily establish a niche as a high-end ride-sharing service – and charge a premium – given its cult-like brand loyalty and design savvy. The growth of car subscription models could also play in Apple's favor since is already has many people hooked on paying for phones in monthly installments – and eager to upgrade when a new and better model becomes available. To achieve this, some believe Apple will fulfill co-founder and CEO Steve Job's dream of building a car. And as the world's first and only $1 trillion company it's sitting on a mountain of cash that certainly gives it the means. But other tech darlings like Tesla and Google have discovered how difficult it can be to build cars at scale.