Jaguar Land Rover to take lone road on developing EV platform

Jaguar Land Rover has revealed that it will look to develop its own electric vehicle platform in-house despite a number of partnership opportunities, a move that will be supported by a £625 million ($A1.2 billion) UK Government-backed loan.

Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Indian automaker Tata Motors, reported its third-quarter earnings on Monday which was followed by an earnings call where CEO Thierry Bolloré and chief financial officer Adrian Mardell revealed the EV platform initiative as part of its plans to sell battery electric cars only from 2025.

Bolloré said the company will create a new EV platform that would differentiate the Jaguar and Land Rover from other cars.

“You can understand that we are absolutely unique and it’s not by chance,” he said. “We are creating as we speak the new  platform, because it’s going to … bring a unique proportion and capabilities to the cars that we’re going to manufacture.”

In parallel good news for Jaguar Land Rover, the UK Export Finance department backed a new 5-year commercial loan worth £625 million, of which the government will guarantee 80%, or £500 million.

As one of the UK’s largest manufacturers and a major employer across the country, the loan will help support Jaguar Land Rover’s plans to invest about £2.5 billion ($A4.8bn) a year, expected to reach £3 billion by March 2026, to increase the number of EVs in its model line-up under its Reimagine Strategy.

“We are backing our ambitious net zero plans with more concrete action,” said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, secretary of state for international trade. “We want our carmakers to accelerate the production of electric vehicles in the UK.

“This deal from UK Export Finance will help Jaguar Land Rover continue to sell the Best of British to the world, while creating jobs, boosting manufacturing and levelling up across the UK.”