JLR is following other Western legacy car manufacturers to source platforms for their next-gen vehicles from Chinese OEMs
You must have seen Land Rover’s official teasers of the new all-electric Range Rover testing in extreme conditions. The company claims it will be the quietest Range Rover ever made, owing to the obvious advantages of an electric powertrain. Now, it is revealed that, JLR’s (Jaguar Land Rover) future EVs will be based on platforms sourced from Chinese carmaker Chery.
Jaguar Land Rover And Chery – The long-standing partnership
It is a known fact that JLR and Chery have a long and fruitful partnership, mainly in the Chinese market. Both brands entered a partnership in 2012 and have been co-producing vehicles. The two companies even share a car manufacturing facility in China that has been manufacturing cars from 2014.
In a major move by Tata Motors owned JLR and Chery Group owned Exeed, the joint venture is now extended where JLR will use two of the potent platforms developed by Exeed for their future vehicles. As confirmed by Yin Tongyao, president of Chery Group, JLR will be their new platform recipient. JLR will source Exeed’s M3X and E0X platforms.
As per the agreement, JLR will be able to freely use both platforms on their next-gen vehicles that could be launched under Range RoverDiscovery and Defender umbrellas. M3X is locally also called T2X and it supports both traditional ICE powertrains and even PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) powertrains.
What are these platforms capable of?
This very platform, touted as ‘Super Hybrid’ in a few Chery cars like Exeed RX PHEV, Chery Fulwin T9 and others, is capable of achieving nine operating modes, 11 gear combinations, over 1000-km range, and a thermal efficiency of 44.5%. All this, with the help of an IC engine and two electric motors paired to the world’s first gearbox to adopt two electric motors.
The other modular platform that JLR is sourcing from Chery Group owned Exeed is the E0X, which was co-developed with Huawei. This platform is suitable for both EVs and EREV (Extended Range EVs) hybrids and incorporates an 800V architecture. With 12 kWh/100 km consumption rating, air suspension, advanced autonomous driving and attributes, it is fit for high-end vehicles with range extenders.
Currently, E0X platform underpins Chery Group vehicles like Exlantix ES, Exlantix ET, Luxeed S7, and Luxeed R7. These platforms could fill in the blanks where JLR is currently lacking, which is new energy vehicles.
JLR’s move to source Chinese platforms might prove shocking to many. However, it is a more widespread phenomenon than one might think. Auto giant, Volkswagen, has announced XPeng’s platform. Audi is sourcing SAIC’s platform. Brands like Lotus, Smart and Volvo are using Geely’s platforms and Renault is sourcing Chinese technology for its upcoming Twingo too.
