Emissions blamed for Jaguar-Land Rover shelving platform
Scrapped new XJ likely to be followed by 'upsized F-Pace' J-Pace.
The Jaguar F-Pace SVR.
Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) has reportedly shelved development of all models poised to use the MLA platform due to emissions regulations.
This comes on the back of the announcement last month that the all new, all electric XJ, which had already started testing, had been scrapped as part of Jaguar’s repositioning as an electric only manufacturer by 2025. Automotive News Europe reports that the Indian-owned British marque’s second unexpected turnaround in as many months comes after it posted losses not only last year, but also in 2019 that led to job cuts of 2 000 people last month, according to cnbc.com.
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Aside from the XJ, the models most likely never to see mass production include the J-Pace reportedly seen by dealers as far back as 2019 and the all-electric Range Rover hinted at two years ago. Not mentioned was the supposed replacement for the F-Type that could come in the form of the C-X75 concept or the rumoured small hatch alluded to last year.
Land Rover Discovery
According to the online publication, JLR chief financial officer Adrian Mardell, in making the announcement at an investor conference, said it would be keeping the MLA for the incoming Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, both well into development, but added that its axing had been as a result of failure to cut emissions by a satisfactory amount.
“Reimagine is about being one step ahead on compliance. The current MLA programme would not have done that for us. We would have been in catch-up in this compliance and that just isn’t good enough in this industry today,” he said in reference to the marque’s Reimagine alignment strategy.
As well a reported fine of £35-million (R736-million) for missing the cut-off date for reducing emissions set out by the EU, the motor manufacturer will also part with a £1-billion (R209-billion) investment in the MLA and the models meant to use it.
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