Jaguar becomes latest heavyweight to join electric car fray
Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s largest car firm, has become the latest company to enter the electric car market by joining the Formula E battery powered F1 championship.
This dovetails with a decision to allocate some of its £3bn research and development budget toward electric vehicles for consumer use, including the development of a fully battery-powered electric sports car.
The car giant will also investigate means of introducing batteries into its existing range, positioning itself as a direct competitor to the likes of BMW and Tesla in the sector.
This comes as the EU moves to mandate drastically lowered fuel consumption limits by 2020 in order to meet carbon emission targets.
Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover group’s engineering director, said: “It is a challenge for the industry. There will be a mix of hybridisation but electrification will be part of that. There will be real-world usage from what we learn from racing in Formula E.”