The range of cleaner vehicles lined up for India is part of a new direction “Destination Zero” which aims towards zero fatality, zero emission, zero congestion to develop a safe and a cleaner environment for the future.
Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover will bring in half a dozen electrified vehicles in India starting 2020, as the government of India pushes towards cleaner mobility solutions in the country with pollution on the rise.
The range of cleaner vehicles lined up for India is part of a new direction “Destination Zero” which aims towards zero fatality, zero emission, zero congestion to develop a safe and a cleaner environment for the future.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK, Ralf Speth, the global CEO of JLR told select Indian journalists that the all-electric I-Pace will come in the second half of 2020 and there will be a range of hybrid vehicles coming to India.
“India is really at the forefront to encourage cleaner technology and is a signatory to Paris climate accord. A lot of customers in India in my point of view are also prepared for this kind of new technology. But the question is not to bring in technology for the sake of technology, it has to contribute to the environment. We need more renewable sources of energy to power these electric vehicles (and not depend on coal powered),” added Speth.
Speth says, all its manufacturing plant in UK are already carbon neutral including the R&D set up in Gaydon, which generates over 20% of its power from renewable energies and the company infact has the biggest solar panel roof in the whole of UK at 3000 square meters. The company is on track to electrify all its models by 2020.
On the new electric I-PACE, Speth said, the company has received an overwhelming response and the company is facing capacity constraints. They expect the supply situation to remain challenging with battery in shortage and Speth expects the prices to remain high in the coming three years atleast.
JLR India on its part has committed towards launching 10 new products in FY-20, out of which three are already launched, of the balance seven, the company will be coming out with the all new Range Rover Evoque and the mid-cycle facelift of XE sedan including product upgrades, some of them may be hybrids.
JLR currently assembles about six vehicles at its plant in Chikali on the outskirts of Pune and it has geared up its facility to make local hybrid solutions.
