A leading city councillor has hailed a massive investment in electric vehicles by JLR as a show of faith in the city and its future.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, was invited to tour the new £250m Future Energy Lab at Whitley.
The 323,000 sq ft engineering facility is developing Electric Drive Units (EDUs) for JLR’s next generation pure electric Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar models
Investment in the facility has created 350 new jobs as the car giant prepares to launch nine pure electric luxury models by 2030.
Cllr O’Boyle said: “It really is an incredible facility and one that not just JLR and Coventry can be proud of, but the entire country.
“It will keep our city at the forefront of the automotive industry, both now and in the future and cement our reputation as a global leader in the industry’s new technologies.
“Coventry is a proud innovative, engineering city with a long and illustrious past, and we are using that reputation to rebuild for an exciting future as the automotive industry goes through unprecedented change.
“We are also a green city and one that is working hard to protect the environment, and give people cleaner air to breathe, and this facility is yet another step in that work.
“It joins our advances in electric battery production, our plans for Coventry Very Light Rail, our new recycling facility and so much more that is happening in Coventry right now.
“It really is an exciting time for Coventry, and we send our thanks and congratulations to JLR for creating such an industry-leading facility here in our city that will create jobs and produce cars from Coventry that are known and loved around the world.
“We have worked together for many years now and achieved so much together and this fantastic EV testing lab is a show of the company’s faith in our city, its future, and its skilled workforce.
“I wish it every success and I look forward to the Council, JLR and all our partners continuing to work together to create the green and thriving automotive industry of the future.”
The site represents a scale up in the luxury car manufacturer’s EV development as JLR develops new pure electric models across all brands.
By increasing its capacity for testing EVs on-site, JLR is minimising the cost of, and the emissions associated with, sending fleets of prototype cars around the world for test assessments.
Oliver Boakes, Chief Engineer, Powertrain Test Operations, JLR, said: “Our operations at Whitley are at the heart of JLR – itself a leading business in the local community – so this test facility is another jewel in the crown of our move towards an all-electric future. This is a notable investment for the business and local economy.”
JLR is planning a further £22m worth of investment next year, as it continues to upgrade the Coventry site.
JLR’s next electric vehicle, the modern luxury Range Rover BEV, is one of the models undergoing hundreds of thousands of hours of testing on these rigs, while its EDUs are designed, developed and tested by JLR engineers based at Whitley. The model is due to launch next year.
