Jaguar Land Rover To Offer Only Electric Or Hybrid Models Starting In 2020

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Going all-electric is the future, and now Jaguar Land Rover also believes so. On Thursday, the company, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, announced that starting in 2020, all its cars will be available in electric or hybrid versions.

Why is Jaguar Land Rover going electric?

Jaguar Land Rover looks very determined to go green, as just last year, it announced plans to come up with eco-friendly versions of half of its new line-up by 2020.

“We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles,” CEO Ralf Speth said. “The internal combustion engine is not at an end. We have to do both, we have to refine the internal combustion engine and simultaneously research and develop even more competitive petro-electric vehicles,” Speth told Sky News.

Jaguar Land Rover’s plan of coming up with greener versions of its new cars is not a surprise altogether, given the rising demand for electric models and the stance of many of the world’s governments towards such a technology. A couple of months ago, Britain announced a solution to cutting pollution by banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars starting in 2040. France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have already announced similar plan, notes BI.

Electric line-up plans

Next year, Jaguar Land Rover plans to offer its first fully electric car, the I-PACE. The Jaguar I-Pace will be powered by dual electric motors, providing 400 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The car will be fitted with a 90 kWh battery, which will be enough for 220 miles of driving. The I-PACE is expected to give strong completion to the Tesla Model X.

Jaguar also showcased an electric concept of its classic E-type model, but it is not known if the company has any plans to produce it. The E-Type Zero is based on a 1968 Series 1.5 Roadster. It’s the same vehicle that Enzo Ferrari referred to as the “most beautiful car in the world.” The car is fitted with a small 40 kWh battery, which is enough to keep it running for 170 miles, notes CNET.

Jaguar also shared its vision for the car of the future.

“The fully autonomous virtual concept explores mobility for the connected world of tomorrow, where vehicles could be shared not owned,” the automaker said.

Further, the company said the concept would have an intelligent steering wheel called Sayer as its most important feature. According to the company, Sayer will be the first voice-activated AI steering wheel, which will be capable of performing several tasks. The steering wheel will be powered by advanced speech recognition software which enables it to choose your entertainment, organize your travel and answer all your questions, the company claims.

Jaguar Land Rover also hinted at its plans to construct an electric car plant in the U.K. Nissan already has a similar facility in Sunderland, where the Leaf is built. In July, BMW also promised to develop its electric Mini in Oxford.

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