Electric Car Race Charging Up
Any electric vehicle needs the energy from its battery carried to its wheels. BMW and Jaguar Land Rover are teaming up catch up on this tech. Tesla, look over your shoulder.
Like it or not, automotive manufacturers always knew they were in an electric race. And it never promised to be all fun. Research and development is costly, very costly, so controlling that is vital to keeping shareholders happy. With the automotive industry being a true ‘red ocean,’ stained by heavy losses and near bankruptcies, investors will be pleased with the downside protection of having both BMW and JLR unite.
Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors, specializes in saloons and all-wheel-drive vehicles. JLR engineering director, Nick Rogers, said that with “the pace of change gathering real momentum… it’s essential we work across the industry”. He also said it was clear that requirements to make the evolution to ‘ACES’ (autonomous, connected, electric and shared) “significantly overlapped” with BMW.
JLR jumped at the chance to cozy up with the German giants. Expect to see it piggybacking on the bargaining power of BMW to get parts more cheaply. As for the electric standing of BMW, it made a splash back in 2013 with the i3. It’ll be hoping Jaguar Land Rover can push it along a bit in getting another bestseller out the factory doors. It’s been too long.
Ultimately, this is the next generation of electric cars in the making. Investors will be keen to see how well these trusted brands can combat early mover Tesla – which has so far pioneered all things electric!
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