1.5-litre three-cylinder plug-in hybrid combines a conventional petrol engine with an electric motor and will be installed in the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport. Tony McDonough reports
Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is to install new plug-in hybrid technology into the two vehicles it currently produces at its Halewood factory in Merseyside.
The 1.5-litre three-cylinder plug-in hybrid combines a conventional petrol engine, the smallest in the Ingenium range, with an electric motor to provide electric power for shorter trips plus traditional power or combined petrol and electric drive for optimum efficiency on longer journeys.
JLR is introducing the plug-in to its latest generation Range Rover Evoque and updated Land Rover Discovery Sport models, both assembled at Halewood where around 4,000 people are employed.
Most of the workers at the plant are currently furloughed with production temporarily shut down due to the global coronavirus pandemic. But JLR is already planning for the future, putting the two Halewood models front and centre of its Destination Zero strategy, which aims for “zero accidents, zero emissions and zero congestion”.
Both the Evoque and the Discovery Sport are top global sellers for the company. In particular, sales of the Evoque has soared by 25% across its world markets over the past 12 months.
Nick Rogers, JLR’s executive director of product engineering, said: “Designed, engineered and manufactured in-house, the modular, scaleable and flexible architecture of our Ingenium family has allowed us to create a pioneering, three-cylinder plug-in hybrid system, giving our customers more choice than ever before.
“The 200PS engine, combined with an 80kW electric motor on the rear axle, gives fantastic all-wheel drive capability and the perfect blend of performance, depending on your driving style.
“Efficient electrification, downsizing and lightweighting also enables incredibly low CO2 of just 32g/km on the Evoque and 36g/km on the Discovery Sport. Additionally, both vehicles have an impressive all-electric, zero tailpipe emission range of 66km and 62km, respectively
“Thanks to the dedication and hard work of our Jaguar Land Rover family, our latest plug-in hybrid offers the same awesome capability and composure with all-electric driving and stunning efficiency, both on- and off-road.”
The introduction of this latest technology to the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport marks the second phase in the electrification of the company’s Halewood plant. More than 1,500 employees have been retrained to build the latest electrified variants of the compact SUVs.