Jaguar Land Rover is the latest automaker to commit to a fully electrified lineup. CEO Ralf Speth made the announcement on Thursday at Jaguar Land Rover’s Tech Fest event in the United Kingdom.
Jaguar Land Rover has set a deadline of 2020 from which every new model launched will be electrified. The deadline is one year later than fellow luxury brands Maserati and Volvo which have made similar commitments. Even exotic brands like Aston Martin and jumping on-board.
Before you start fretting about the end of the internal combustion engine at Jaguar Land Rover, note that electrified implies any form of vehicle electrification. Even a vehicle that simply recaptures brake energy via a motor-generator to power ancillaries would be considered an electrified vehicle.
“Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice,” Speth said. “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles.”
Speth also used the Tech Fest event, which runs until September 10 at the University of the Arts London, to reiterate Jaguar Land Rover’s plan to launch its first electric car, the Jaguar I-Pace, in 2018. The production version is expected to closely resemble the concept first seen at the 2016 Los Angeles auto show. The I-Pace will have 400 horsepower and a range of 220 miles.
Jaguar Land Rover also used the event to show off an electric Jaguar E-Type as well as a fully self-driving city car concept called the Jaguar Future-Type.
Expect more automakers to commit to a fully electrified lineup in the months and years ahead. They have little choice given the stricter emission regulations planned for major markets. Some countries have already pledged to end the sale of non-electrified cars.
