on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar Land Rover's InMotion takes a stab at carsharing

Jaguar Land Rover's new InMotion mobility business aims to capitalize on the growing carsharing boom and develop other forms of alternative transportation. The first pilot programs kick off in the coming months in North America, Europe, and Asia. JLR owns InMotion, but the company acts independently from the automaker. "As a start-up business, InMotion combines the flexibility and pace needed to compete in the ever-changing mobility sector. It allows us to react quickly to new tech and ever-changing customer demands," Adrian Hallmark, JLR's Group Strategy Director, said in a statement. The 30-person firm intends to develop its own answers to upcoming transport problems and also invest in entrepreneurs to develop those solutions. InMotion isn't yet providing many details about what projects the firm expects to tackle, but the Website mentions carsharing and on-demand delivery services. Establishing InMotion shows that JLR doesn't want to fall behind the current trends in the auto industry. Practically every major automaker is currently pursuing future transportation ideas. For example, Ford recently took a very similar approach when it spun off Smart Mobility into a separate startup. BMW also rebranded its DriveNow carsharing service into ReachNow to also add a future ridesharing service. Related Video: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LAUNCHES NEW TECHNOLOGY START-UP InMotion launched to create innovative solutions, helping customers to overcome travel and transport issues Independent business with the agility and independence to react quickly in mobility sector InMotion will create apps and on-demand services Whitley, 11th April 2016: Jaguar Land Rover has launched InMotion, a new technology business that builds apps and on-demand services to overcome modern travel and transport challenges. Next month InMotion will begin real-world testing of a number of different services such as car sharing and car ownership solutions, across North America, Europe and Asia in the coming months. Adrian Hallmark, Group Strategy Director, Jaguar Land Rover said:"With the development of new apps and on-demand services, InMotion provides us with an opportunity to provide engaging and invaluable experiences to both new and existing customers globally." "As a start-up business, InMotion combines the flexibility and pace needed to compete in the ever-changing mobility sector.

Jaguar-Land Rover rules out downsizing into new segments

Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) will continue expanding its portfolio of models during the 2020s, but the group confirmed it won't chase volume by branching out into smaller segments like its German rivals. The two brands will instead seek partnerships to generate economies of scale. "We should not and will not drive down into segments just to get economies of scale," said Felix Brautigam, Jaguar-Land Rover's chief commercial officer, in an interview with Autocar. He added the second-generation Range Rover Evoque (pictured) released in 2018 is already a relatively small car. It stretches 172 inches from bumper to bumper and 75 inches from side to side, so it's approximately 4 inches longer and 5 inches wider than the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf. It's about 8 inches taller than the German hatchback, however. While that's small by luxury car standards, Mercedes-Benz and BMW respectively went smaller with their Smart and Mini brands. Audi doesn't have an entry-level sub-brand, but it doesn't need to because it's part of the gigantic Volkswagen Group. Japanese luxury firms like Lexus and Infiniti are also part of bigger companies. Brautigam's comments bury numerous rumors. They confirm Jaguar won't take on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the Audi A3, and the BMW 1 Series with a model positioned below the XE, which competes against the C-Class, the A4, and the 3 Series, respectively. They also douse cold water on the born-again Freelander (which ultimately morphed into the LR2 in America), which Land Rover was allegedly developing to slot directly below the aforementioned Evoque. Ironically, JLR might soon have access to platforms capable of underpinning smaller vehicles. Parent company Tata Motors is actively looking for an outside company to link arms with the British brands, according to a separate report. Officials reportedly approached BMW -- which used to own Land Rover, and announced a joint-venture with the group in 2019 -- and Geely, the Chinese giant whose portfolio of brands includes Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Proton, London Taxi Company, Terrafugia, and half of Smart, plus a sizeable, nearly-10% stake in Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. Geely told Bloomberg it hasn't heard from Tata or JLR. BMW and Tata remained silent. While a partnership with someone looks likely considering the significant hurdles faced by JLR, its parent company has categorically ruled out selling the duo it purchased from Ford for $2.3 billion in 2008.

Tesla layoffs, new safety mandates, and a bumper crop of V12s! | Autoblog Podcast #830

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a gasoline-powered installment. They lead off by diving into the Tesla layoff news from this week before leaving electrification behind for a bit to talk about not one, but two production V12 unveilings. This isn't a drill, folks; Aston Martin and Ferrari are both committed. After that, they touch on the U.S. government announcement that it would mandate automatic emergency braking systems starting in 2029. They finish up the news segment with a chat about Fisker. Poor, poor Fisker. From there, it's on to the road tests. The Autoblog team has been testing out some EVs and both Byron and Greg had some thoughts to share, plus we get a final update from Byron on the long-term Subaru WRX and some notes from both drivers about the updated Range Rover Evoque.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #830 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Axing Tesla's Supercharger department raises worries as other automakers join network Fisker tells its staff that four companies are interested in buying it Ferrari confirms the 812 Superfast's successor will keep the V12 alive Aston Martin isn't done with V12s, it redesigns the engine U.S. to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles What we've been driving 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 2021 Tesla Model Y 2024 Range Rover Evoque Long-term Subaru WRX Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Podcasts Aston Martin Ferrari Hyundai Land Rover Subaru Tesla Convertible Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Performance Sedan