Half of all Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles will be offered with hybrid or electric powertrains within five years, company CEO Ralf Speth has pledged.
In the wake of the launch of the Jaguar I-Pace battery electric vehicle – a car described by Jaguar design boss Ian Callum as being as significant as the E-Type – the British manufacturer has committed to an ambitious programme of electrification.
In addition to fully electric cars and a range of diesels and petrols, JLR is developing plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and mild hybrid powertrain options.
JLR showcased plug-in and mild hybrid versions of the Range Rover Evoque last year.
However, one fuel type that is unlikely to feature in JLR’s future plans is hydrogen, with technical design chief Wolfgang Ziebart branding it "a complete nonsense".
Speth anticipated that electric and hybrid vehicles could account for as much as 40% of JLR’s overall sales by 2020.
“We are shaping the future, developing our own approach to autonomy, connectivity and electrification to offer our customers more choice,” he said.
JLR has already begun laying the groundwork for its future powertrain plans. In 2015, it revealed plans to double the size of its advanced engineering and design centre at Whitley, near Coventry.
This expansion will house highly skilled product development engineers and support the company’s creation of high-tech, ultra-low emissions vehicles for customers around the world.
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If hydrogen is the wrong