Boost for JLR going electric
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed its plant in Nitra, Slovakia, will produce electric vehicles (EVs) as part of the company’s Reimagine Strategy that will see nine electric models launched by 2030.
Barbara Bergmeier, executive director of industrial operations, has hailed the success of the plant and its staff after producing more than 365,000 units of the Defender and Discovery since production started there in October 2018.
She says: “Our fantastic state-of-the-art plant in Nitra will be producing EVs this decade as part of our electrification strategy.
“This is a vote of confidence in the plant’s 5,000 skilled and dedicated people, and demonstrates the key role Nitra plays in our successful performance.”
Nitra’s operations director, Guillermo Mancholas, adds: “Our plant has gone from strength to strength since the lines started work five years ago.
“We took changes, such adding the Defender 130 and moving from two to three shifts increasing production from 2,000 to 3,000 cars a week, in our stride. The news we will be delivering EV production is confirmation of our key role in the Reimagine Strategy.”
JLR invested €1.3 billion – or around NZ$2.37b – to launch Nitra, pictured. Since then, it has invested a further €60m in new technology, land, buildings and software.
Built exclusively at Nitra, the new Defender has been a particular financial success for the company. As JLR’s bestselling model for past two financial years, it is generating 10 times the revenue than the Classic Defender was in 2015.
Looking forward, JLR is investing around NZ$31.16b over five years to transform its vehicles to electric and become carbon net zero by 2039. This includes electrifying its Range Rover, Defender, Jaguar and Discovery brands, and launching nine pure electric models by 2030.
JLR is rapidly transforming its industrial footprint to prepare for electrification, and the electrification of Nitra represents the last piece in that jigsaw.
In the UK, Halewood will become JLR’s first all-electric production facility, and Solihull will make electric Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar models.
Its engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton will build electric-drive units (EDUs) and Castle Bromwich will be repurposed to build body panels for EVs.
In addition, JLR has opened a future-energy lab in Whitley, Coventry, to develop EDUs in-house. Further details on the electric models to be built at Nitra will be confirmed in due course.
