JLR Halewood to Become All-Electric Production Facility; Next-Gen Medium-Size SUV Architecture Fully Electric

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) will invest £15 billion (US$18.7 billion) over the next five years in its industrial footprint, vehicle programs, autonomous, AI and digital technologies and people skills. As part of the investment, the Halewood plant in the UK will become an all-electric production facility and the next generation medium-size SUV architecture, electrified modular architecture (EMA), will now be pure-electric.

In an update to global media at JLR’s center in Gaydon, Chief Executive Officer Adrian Mardell reaffirmed the business’s commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the company as an electric-first, modern luxury carmaker by 2030, as JLR makes strides towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash positive position by FY25 and double-digit EBIT by 2026.

JLR confirmed it will start to invite applications for client orders for the modern luxury all-electric Range Rover from later this year. The first of its next generation medium-size modern luxury SUVs will be an all-electric model from the Range Rover family, launching in 2025 and built at Halewood in Merseyside, in a move that further affirms JLR’s commitment to the future of the UK car industry.

While EMA will now be electric only, as the trend to electrification in certain markets increases, JLR will retain the flexible modular longitudinal architecture (MLA) on which Range Rover and Range Rover Sport are built offering internal combustion engine (ICE), HYBRID and battery electric vehicle (BEV) options. This gives JLR flexibility to adapt its vehicle line up to meet the needs of different markets around the world that are moving at different speeds towards carbon net zero targets.

As a next step within the Reimagine strategy, JLR will move to a House of Brands approach, to amplify the unique character of each of its brands: Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar.

JLR also announced that the first of three reimagined modern luxury Jaguars will be a 4-door GT built in Solihull in the West Midlands, UK. With power output more than any previous Jaguar, a range up to 700 km (430 miles), and with indicative pricing from £100,000, new Jaguar will be built on its own unique architecture, named JEA. More details of the new 4-door GT Jaguar will be released later this year, before going on sale in selected markets in 2024, for client deliveries in 2025.

JLR also revealed its Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, UK, currently producing Ingenium internal combustion engines for its vehicles, will have an electric future producing electric drive units and battery packs for JLR’s next generation vehicles. It will be renamed the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre to reflect the move.

In positive news for the future of the historic Castle Bromwich site, JLR confirmed that its stamping facilities that prepare pressed body metalwork for JLR’s vehicles will be expanded to play a key role in the company’s electric future, by providing body work for next generation electric vehicles. JLR continues to explore options for other parts of the Castle Bromwich site.