JLR rising to green challenge says Cable

BRITAIN’S premium car sector is more than capable of rising to the environmental challenges faced by the car industry, Business Secretary Vince Cable said during a visit to Midlands manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover.

During his visit, Mr Cable was shown some of the latest fuel-efficient vehicles being developed by the company, now owned by India’s Tata Motors.

JLR is the UK’s largest investor in automotive environmental technologies and is investing around £800m in developing new technologies that will produce cleaner burning engines and reduce CO2 exhaust emissions.

The Business Secretary was also introduced to members of JLR’s Advanced Research team, who are working on these new sustainable technologies including hybrids and electrification. Test beds for the new technology include the Jaguar XJ-based Limo Green and the Range Rover Sport REHEV (Range Extended Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

Both these vehicles are supported by Technology Strategy Board funding.

The Range Rover REHEV will run as a pure electric car for up to 12 miles in town and the diesel engine and electric motor will combine to drive all four wheels at higher speeds and when off-road. The target for its average emissions is 94 g/km CO2 and a zero emissions range up to 19 miles.

The ultra-efficient hybrid Jaguar Limo Green concept is a Range Extended Electric Vehicle developed in conjunction with Lotus Engineering, MIRA and Caparo Technologies.

Based on the new, lightweight, XJ saloon launched earlier this year, Limo Green features an advanced electric drive motor, battery pack and a small auxiliary power generator instead of the familiar Jaguar diesel and petrol engines. Limo-Green is targeting CO2 emissions of less than 120gm/km, fuel consumption bettering 57mpg and a top speed of 112mph. The overall range is 500 miles and in EV mode, an impressive 30 miles.

Mr Cable said: “The UK excels in making premium and niche cars and these are exported all over the world. A great example of the UK’s advanced research and development excellence is Jaguar’s Limo Green ultra-low carbon technology project.

“An executive car that can do more than 50mpg with CO2 emissions from only 50g/km shows Britain’s premium car sector is more than capable of rising to the environmental challenges facing the car industry.”

He also viewed the new Range Rover Evoque. This smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient addition to the Range Rover line-up goes on sale next year. It is being built at the company’s Halewood plant on Merseyside and should create around 1,000 new jobs – supported by a grant offer of £27m from the Government.

Carl-Peter Forster, Managing Director and Group CEO of Tata Motors said: “Jaguar Land Rover has a central role in the UK’s automotive landscape supporting over 130,000 jobs and generating almost £6bn in export revenues alone.

“With annual investment in product creation set to top the £1bn mark Jaguar Land Rover is making a very clear statement of intent for its future and the critical role that manufacturing, engineering and R&D plays in ensuring the UK play its full part in a new low-carbon economy.”

During his visit to the Midlands automotive industry, Mr Cable also visited Aston Martin in Gaydon where he got the chance to test drive some of the company’s latest vehicles.

He also visited the International Digital Laboratories at Warwick University in Coventry, where he completed his trip by taking part in a roundtable discussion hosted by Business Voice WM, where he will heard the group’s views on growth in the region and proposed plans for Local Enterprise Partnerships.