2014 Range Rover Autobiography on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover opens new $1.6 billion factory in Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Jaguar Land Rover is opening a new, $1.6 billion plant in Slovakia, the luxury car maker's first in continental Europe. The U.K.-based company, owned by India's Tata Motors, built the plant near Nitra, about 65 miles east of Bratislava, to initially produce 150,000 cars a year. The Slovak government is giving the carmaker investment subsidies of up to 130 million euros ($148 million). Slovakia is a regional car-making powerhouse. Germany's Volkswagen AG, France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and South Korea's Kia Motors all have a major plant in this Central European country of 5.4 million people. The company said it will shift all production of its Discovery model from Birmingham, England, to Slovakia amid falling diesel sales, vehicle taxes and uncertainty about Britain's Brexit departure from the European Union.Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Jaguar Land Rover talks EVs, Batteries should be modular

A new study out of Germany suggests adopting a modular approach to battery offerings in plug-in hybrid and extended range electric vehicles. Automakers could offer the same car with different battery sizes (and different costs, accordingly) to drivers depending on their driving ranges. This would optimize the total cost of ownership for various drivers better than the current approach. Developing a modular battery design and offering appropriate batteries for different customers "is the key for electric powertrains to meet customer expectations and become cost competitive against conventional technologies," according to the report from the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, German Aerospace Center. Learn more at Green Car Congress. Jaguar and Land Rover are looking to offer more electric driving from their vehicles. Wolfgang Ziebart, head of product development for Jaguar Land Rover, said in an interview that its hybrid system is being tweaked for more electric power and "downsized" combustion. He also said the likely target market for EVs would be second and third vehicles, rather than primary vehicles for urban driving. Within that market, Europeans look for something smaller, while American drivers lean toward larger luxury vehicles for their second car. Ziebart uses the Tesla Model S as an example of American tastes, and compares its size to that of the Jaguar XJ. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Thailand will likely approve a Volkswagen factory as early as next week. A German newspaper suggests that Thailand's Board of Investment is set to greenlight the plant, which is planned for a site near the Port of Bangkok. Thailand is a relatively large and growing auto manufacturing country, which seeks to be a major producer of eco-friendly vehicles. The country's "Eco2" program would provide incentives to Volkswagen if it builds clean cars and meets certain production targets. Read more at Reuters. Formula E has chosen Sky Deutschland for broadcasting rights in the German market. The deal includes television rights, as well as online broadcasting. Sky Deutschland has 3.8 million subscribers in Germany and Austria. Showing the races on Germany's largest pay television provider should help generate interest for the series, particularly the Berlin ePrix - the inaugural season's penultimate race - scheduled for May 30, 2015. Read more at the Formula E website.

10 best new car deals in late September 2021

New car sales were drastically affected in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but things started to show signs of recovery toward the end of the year before really coming on strong in the early months of 2021. Now there's an ongoing shortage of microchips causing a great deal of pricing fluctuation and a limited supply of certain vehicles. That doesn't mean there aren't still great deals on new cars, though. Using data provided by TrueCar, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best automotive deals for September 2021. WeÂ’ve noted the original MSRP, the average transaction price, and the total savings in both dollars and as a percentage of the original sticker price. Basically, weÂ’ve done all the hard work for you! So now, all you need to do is compare deals, go on a few test drives, and maybe drive away in a great car (and an even better bargain).