Jaguar cars to go all-electric by 2025 as JLR plans full range of e-models by 2030

Reuters

Published Feb 15, 2021 05:47AM ET

Updated Feb 15, 2021 09:10AM ET

By Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover's luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and the carmaker will launch e-models of its entire lineup by 2030, it said on Monday, as it joined a global race to develop zero-emission vehicles.

JLR, owned by India's Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM), said its Land Rover brand will launch six pure electric models over the next five years, with the first one coming in 2024.

Known for its iconic, high-performance E-Type model in the 1960s and 1970s, Jaguar faces the same challenge as many other carmakers - making the transition to electric vehicles while retaining the feeling and power of a luxury combustion engine model.

JLR said it will keep all three of its British plants open as it electrifies its range. "It's time to re-imagine the next chapter for both brands," Chief Executive Thierry Bollore said.

Shares in Tata Motors rose as much as 3% after the announcement.

JLR said its electric plans for Jaguar would be centred at its Solihull plant, but dropped plans to build the XJ, the brand's flagship full-size car, at its Castle Bromwich facility in central England.

Bollore, who took over as CEO in September, said the Castle Bromwich plant would focus instead on "non-production" activities in the long term. He provided few details.

JLR said it will spend around 2.5 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) annually on electrification technologies and the development of connected vehicle services.

The company said it was also investing in developing hydrogen fuel cells in anticipation of a future shift to hydrogen to power vehicles.

The carmaker will have prototypes using hydrogen fuel cells on Britain's roads within the next year, it said, as part of a long-range investment plan.

Car groups worldwide are pursuing zero-emission strategies to meet stringent CO2 emission targets in Europe and China.

Luxury car brand Bentley Motors, owned by Germany's Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p), said in November its model range will be fully electric by 2030, and last month General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) said it aimed to have a zero-emission lineup by 2035.

A number of countries have also announced bans on new fossil-fuel vehicle sales. In the United Kingdom, that ban should take effect in 2030.

JLR said it was a "on a path towards" a double-digit operating profit and positive cash flow, and aims to achieve positive cash excluding debt by 2025.