This new alliance is one
of many currently underway in the industry as manufacturers seek to make
electrified vehicles more profitable. Most recently, Ford announced a $500m investment
in EV start-up Rivian. No timeframe has been given for when the first fruits of
the collaboration will be seen, but it’s likely to be in the next three to four
years. Similarly, no volume expectations have been announced but given the need
for economies of scale, it is set to be substantial. Both firms are ramping up
their electrified line-ups. The announcement comes just weeks after Jaguar Land
Rover reported a £3.6 billion (Rs 31,654 crore) loss over its financial year,
amid persistent rumours of
a possible takeover by PSA Group, a deal which has yet to be confirmed. The
collaboration, which includes joint investment in research and development,
engineering and procurement, stems from both, the success of Jaguar’s electric
I-Pace and BMW’s long-established expertise at having built EDUs in-house since
it launched the i3 in 2013. BMW said the firms "share the same strategic
vision of environmentally-friendly and future-oriented electric drive
technologies.” Jaguar Land Rover and BMW will work together, at BMW's HQ in
Munich, to develop the EDUs, with both developing systems to
“deliver the specific characteristics required
for their respective range of products,” said JLR's statement. The EDUs will be
made by JLR and BMW at their respective plants. For JLR, this will be the
Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, which was confirmed as the home
of the firm’s global EDU production earlier this year. BMW has not yet
disclosed where it will build its EDUs, but there have been widespread reports
that the company is expanding its manufacturing base in Hams Hall, in the
Midlands, which would mean it was in close proximity to JLR’s facility.
The financial terms of the
deal will not be disclosed. Jaguar Land Rover said the move supports “the advancement
of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry’s
transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future”. This
is not the first meeting between Jaguar Land Rover and BMW. In 1994, BMW bought
Land Rover but had limited success so sold it to Ford in 2000. Ford later sold
the brand to Tata Motors in 2008.
