Jaguar Land Rover to go electric by 2020

World
Europe

Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest major car manufacturer to announce a drastic move away from traditional combustion engines, after promising that all of its vehicles would be hybrid or fully electric by 2020.

Chief executive Ralf Speth said “every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s pledge to go electric follows a similar promise made in July by rival Volvo, which will come into effect from 2019.

CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, Ralf Speth, gives a speech during the first day of the 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai on April 19, 2017. /AFP Photo

While electric vehicles (EVs) still only make up one percent of new global car sales, the industry is growing at a rapid pace, and more major manufacturers are expected to follow Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo in going electric in the next few years.

China is currently the world leader in terms of electric vehicle sales, selling 507,000 in 2016, according to China Daily. The Ministry of Public Security estimates that EV production and sales volume will surpass five million by 2020, with 1.01 million currently on the road.

Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo – owned by Chinese vehicle giant Geely – are set to join a growing number of domestic brands in developing the EV market in China. According to Clean Technica, 93 percent of plug-in EV vehicle sales in the country are domestic brands, with all but two of the 20 best-selling models made by Chinese manufacturers.

A man walks past electric cars and tricycles on a sidewalk in Beijing on April 25, 2017. /AFP Photo

Jaguar Land Rover announced record figures for 2016 earlier this year after a 32 percent increase in sales in China – its biggest one country market. In August, the latest statistics showed China sales were still very strong, up 30 percent year-on-year.

Jaguar Land Rover announced the opening of its first engine plant in China in July, as part of its partnership with Chinese brand Chery. The joint venture opened a manufacturing base in 2014, with more than 100,000 vehicles rolling off the production line in Changshu, Jiangsu Province.

The Jaguar F-Pace, on display in Mumbai in October 2016. /AFP Photo

What makes Jaguar Land Rover’s electric announcement surprising is the fact that the company still hasn't put a hybrid or electric vehicle on the road – its large SUV vehicles have been criticized as “gas-guzzlers” in the past.

Jaguar Land Rover’s average carbon emissions in 2015 were 164 grams per kilometer, well above 95g/km – the limit manufacturers must meet by 2021 in the European Union. The Jaguar I-Pace, the manufacturer’s first fully electric vehicle which made its Asian debut at the Shanghai Auto Show this summer, is set to go on sale in 2018.