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Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

Jaguar may join the FWD, small-car parade

Was it right for Chevrolet to detune the 1975 Corvette's base engine to 165 horsepower? Was Aston Martin wrong to make the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet? Is BMW crazy to be testing the new 1 Series with three-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive? It seems now, just as in the 1970s and 1980s, that emissions regulations and social considerations are driving some automakers to adopt unbefitting practices to maintain acceptance in the eyes of governments and consumers. Jaguar has jumped on the bandwagon, and is considering development of small, frugal, front-wheel-drive cars to help lower Jaguar Land Rover's average vehicle CO2 levels in light of tightening European emissions regulations, Autocar reports.
By 2020, the European Union expects the model range of every manufacturer to average 95 grams per kilometer, which is a new law passed by the European Parliament in April. Manufacturers who make more than 300,000 vehicles per year must meet these targets, and JLR is expected to be producing up to 700,000 vehicles per year by then. CO2 regulations after 2020 will only get stricter, as EU politicians already are talking about lowering CO2 levels to between 68 g/km and 78 g/km. (To put that in perspective, Autocar posits that driving a fully charged electric vehicle in Europe produces about 75 g/km when factoring in the power-generation infrastructure.)
Jaguar has some choices here, but so far they all have drawbacks. It could develop a new, compact chassis architecture for a line of compact vehicles, but the investment required for such a project could be prohibitively expensive. Jaguar has been looking into using the Land Rover Evoque platform for a small SUV, Autocar reports, but Land Rover brand manager John Edwards raises issue with such a plan, saying it may not be financially feasible.

90th Anniversary Edition signals end of Jaguar F-Pace in Europe

Jaguar is gradually paring down its global range of models as it prepares to start from scratch in a bid to move upmarket. After the XE and the F-Type, it's the F-Pace's turn to sign off in many countries. Launched in 2016, the company's first SUV — and one of its all-time best-selling models — will retire from the European market later in 2024 with a limited-edition model called 90th Anniversary Edition. No, the F-Pace isn't turning 90; the name is a reference to nine decades of Jaguar's internal-combustion engines. Based on the R-Dynamic version, the commemorative SUV gets an edition-specific exterior emblem on the hatch and not much else. It features the same blacked-out trim as the R-Dynamic, and Jaguar notes that buyers have several options to choose from including a panoramic roof and tinted windows. Inside, you'll find sport seats for the front passengers, contrast stitching, and aluminum trim. The S, SE and HSE trim levels can be ordered with the 90th Anniversary package, and the SUV is on sale now in several global markets. We won't get it in the United States, however. "We have not announced end of production or the final model year [for the F-Pace on the American market]. [Production of] the F-Pace will continue in our Solihull plant for the foreseeable future," a spokesperson for the British company told Autoblog via email. Now what? We'll need to be patient to find out what's next. Jaguar has announced plans to shift up a notch or two in the industry's pecking order to take on Bentley, among other brands; as it stands, it's positioned on about the same level as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. This bold move will be accompanied by a shift toward an electric-only range of models. Earlier rumors have detailed three models: a sporty sedan aimed at the Porsche Taycan, a more luxury-focused sedan about as long as the now-retired Bentley Mulsanne, and a big SUV aimed at the Bentayga. If everything goes according to plan, the first of these three models will land in 2025 on a new, purpose-designed architecture. Until then, with the F-Pace nearly out of the picture the global Jaguar range will consist of the electric I-Pace, the E-Pace crossover and the XF sedan. Related video: Featured Gallery 2024 Jaguar F-Pace 90th Anniversary Edition, official images Jaguar SUV Luxury