Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group confirmed on June 5 that they were joining forces to develop new generation electric drives (Electric Drive Unit or EDU). Collaboration that will allow to adapt to the evolution of electrification technologies, at the heart of the transition of the automotive industry towards a future ACES.

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group announce cooperation

Photo: © Jaguar Land Roverqq

This strategic association will be based on the important knowledge and expertise of the two firms in the field of electrification. Jaguar Land Rover demonstrated its technological lead by bringing to market the first premium battery-powered electric SUV - the Jaguar I-PACE, named 2019 Car of the Year, as well as plug-in hybrid models. BMW Group has, for its part, a great experience in electric powertrains developed and designed over several generations since the launch of the BMW i3 in 2013.

“The transition to ACES is the biggest technological upheaval in the automotive industry of our generation. Rapid changes as well as customer interest in electricity are accelerating. In this context, it is essential to find partners in order to progress in this exciting field. We have proven that we can design world class electric cars, but now we need to scale the technology to the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. It was evident from our discussions with the BMW Group that our mutual EDU requirements are aligned and that our collaboration can only be beneficial. "- Nick Rogers, Engineering Director, Jaguar Land Rover

This agreement will allow the two groups to take advantage of their advances in research and development, as well as in terms of production schedules and the economies of scale achieved thanks to joint supplies throughout the logistics chain.

A team of experts from Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group will design the EDUs which will then be adapted to match the characteristics of their respective model ranges.

EDUs will be manufactured separately in the factories of each firm. For Jaguar Land Rover, this task will fall to the Engine Manufacturing Center (Engine Manufacturing Center or EMC) of Wolverhampton, which was chosen in January as the main production site for the group's EDUs. EMC, which employs 1 people, will be at the center of the manufacturing of propulsion systems and will allow production flexibility between the already very clean Ingenium petrol and Diesel engines and the electrical units. The EMC will be supported by the new Battery Assembly Center (Battery Assembly Center) from Hams Hall, near Birmingham, to supply all Jaguar production sites with electric propulsion systems.

To know more : https://www.jaguarlandrover.com/