Selected Jaguar Land Rover MLA models cancelled for falling short of tech, emissions requirements – CFO

As part of its Reimagine global strategy, Jaguar Land Rover took the decision scale back development of models based on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) because these would not have met the automaker’s own requirements for emissions and technology, reported Automotive News Europe.

The halted development for selected, MLA-mid platform-based models led to the cancellation of not just the Jaguar XJ, but also a fully electric Land Rover model, previously thought to be positioned between the Velar and Evoque. This electric model was thought to have been the lower-slung “Road Rover” model codenamed L392, which was never officially announced by the automaker.

Investment related to those products valued at GBP1 billion (RM5.65 billion) will be written off as part of the Reimagine strategy, Jaguar Land Rover chief financial officer Adrian Mardell told analysts on an investor call, Automotive News Europe said. “There are costs involved, including the cancellation of the MLA-mid programme, the XJ replacement and the Land Rover BEV,” said Mardell.

Architectures for future Jaguar Land Rover models will be streamlined down to three ‘electric-first’ platforms, starting with the MLA Flex platform that will support electrified internal combustion as well as battery-electric powertrains, which will form the basis of the forthcoming Range Rover and Range Rover Sport; the platform will roll out from 2022 or 2023, according to a presentation for the Reimagine strategy.

The fifth-generation Range Rover and next Range Rover Sport are two of the company’s ‘biggest hitters’, which will be refreshed in 12-18 months, said Mardell

The second of these is the Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA), which is ‘BEV native’ but which supports additional electrification of compact internal combustion engines, says Jaguar Land Rover. This will be rolled out from 2024, for model lines including the Evoque and the Discovery Sport.

Rounding up the trio is the Pure BEV platform which, as the name suggests, will be for vehicles solely with electric propulsion. This is the platform that is dedicated to future Jaguar models from 2025, for which Jaguar Land Rover is seeking a partner.

The British carmaker has abandoned its earlier annual target of 1 million units, instead focusing on being profitable from an annual volume of 400,000 units to 450,000 units, Mardell said. Global sales for Jaguar Land Rover dropped 23.6% to 425,974 units last year, of these, 323,480 were Land Rovers, which saw an 18% drop, and 102,494 were Jaguars, which was down 37%.

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