Jaguar
Land Rover and BMW Group have confirmed they are joining forces to develop next
generation Electric Drive Units (EDUs) in a move that will support the advancement
of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry’s
transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future.
The
strategic collaboration will build on the considerable knowledge and expertise
in electrification at both companies. Jaguar Land Rover has demonstrated its
leading technical capability in bringing the world’s first premium battery
electric SUV to market - the 2019 World Car of the Year, the Jaguar I-Pace, as
well as plug-in hybrid models; and BMW Group bringing vast experience of
developing and producing several generations of electric drive units in-house
since it launched the BMW i3 in 2013.
The
agreement will enable both companies to take advantage of efficiencies arising
from shared research and development and production planning as well as
economies of scale from joint procurement across the supply chain.
A
team of Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group experts will engineer the EDUs with
both partners developing the systems to deliver the specific characteristics
required for their respective range of products.
The
EDUs will be manufactured by each partner in their own production facilities.
For Jaguar Land Rover this will be at its Wolverhampton-based Engine
Manufacturing Centre (EMC), which was confirmed as the home for the company’s
global EDU production in January of this year. The plant, which employs 1600
people, will be the centre of propulsion system manufacturing offering full
flexibility between clean Ingenium petrol and diesel engines and electric
units.
The
EMC will be complemented by the recently announced Battery Assembly Centre at
Hams Hall, near Birmingham, in supplying electrified powertrain systems to
Jaguar Land Rover’s global vehicle plants.