[BlackPearl]

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...tric-vehicles/

Jaguar Land Rover is joining forces with BMW to boost the development of electric vehicles, becoming the latest car makers to team up in a bid to save money and .

The Coventry-based car maker and German premium automotive business will work together to make electric drive units (EDUs) for the next generation of battery vehicles.

The move comes as the industry faces massive costs to develop electric cars while contending with increasingly tough regulations to protect the environment.

Nick Rogers, engineering director at JLR, said: “The transition to [electric cars] represents the greatest technological shift in the automotive industry in a generation. The pace of change and consumer interest in electrified vehicles is gathering real momentum. It’s essential we work across industry to advance the technologies required to deliver this exciting future.


“It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies’ requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration.”

Munich-based BMW said it “shared the same strategic vision” as JLR of “environmentally friendly and future-oriented electric drive technologies”, and working together would allow the two car makers to share costs.

“The automotive industry is undergoing a steep transformation,” said Klaus Fröhlich, BMW board member responsible for development. “We see collaboration as a key for success, also in the field of electrification.

[GTO]

Makes a lot of sense. Jaguar-Land Rover - like BMW - targets the premium space. BMW is an independent car maker, while Jaguar-Land Rover has had its own set of financial challenges in the recent past. Neither can match Mercedes' enormous pockets, or Audi's (which is part of the giant VW group). Even Volvo is in a comfortable place now only because of the bank balance of its Chinese owners.

I expect to hear of many more such collaborations in the future. In fact, closer home, this technological revolution we're about to experience is the reason Suzuki was so desperate to partner with Toyota.

[Steeroid]

If this didn’t happen, Mercedes would’ve had them all for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

If this didn’t happen, Mercedes would’ve had them all for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Isnt this a hyperbole? Mercedes does 1.6 times the revenue of BMW but 1.1 times the profit. This is more a response to the might that Tesla will be soon become and Mercedes is also the one who will be effected. The biggest problem they have in their hands right now is that they operate like a traditional car company because that is the money maker or the dollar that pays the salary of the execs while Tesla doesnt.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Isnt this a hyperbole? Mercedes does 1.6 times the revenue of BMW but 1.1 times the profit. This is more a response to the might that Tesla will be soon become and Mercedes is also the one who will be effected. The biggest problem they have in their hands right now is that they operate like a traditional car company because that is the money maker or the dollar that pays the salary of the execs while Tesla doesnt.

Mercedes is a silent leader in the EV space. Daimler batteries are preferred over any other brand in terms of quality, and they have built up massive capacity too.

Watch this space. When Daimler gets going in this space, Tesla wouldn’t matter.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Daimler batteries are preferred over any other brand in terms of quality, and they have built up massive capacity too.

I am not sure where this is coming from. There are numerous Tesla's on the roads that have done in excess of 200,000 miles without much degradation in battery capacity. Mercedes is a relative unknown in the area of electric cars. Tesla's have also proven themselves to be better built (not plastics) scoring the highest crash protection ratings ever.

If they have indeed built up a massive capacity, where are the cars? Model 3 is already outselling the best from Germany in the USA. And now that Tesla is expanding in Europe, the Model 3 outsold the Mercedes in its first month of full sales.

All this is before we bring in Tesla the software company.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Watch this space. When Daimler gets going in this space, Tesla wouldn’t matter.

I am not sure what to make of "Tesla wouldnt matter". The brand is already cool and that is the first biggest hurdle for a new brand. And again for Tesla to succeed Mercedes or Toyota does not have to fail. The market is big enough for a few large electric car makers to survive and exist together. If you ask me I would pick a Model 3 over any Mercedes C Class the Model S over any E Class or any other from the German big three.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I am not sure where this is coming from. There are numerous Tesla's on the roads that have done in excess of 200,000 miles without much degradation in battery capacity. Mercedes is a relative unknown in the area of electric cars. Tesla's have also proven themselves to be better built (not plastics) scoring the highest crash protection ratings ever.

I don’t own part(S) of either company and it means nothing to me if one does better than the other.

The fact is that while others have been making cars with whatever technology is available, Daimler is perfecting it.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

If they have indeed built up a massive capacity, where are the cars?

They won’t come up with one or two models. Expect a full range. Their EV drivetrains are already running serious commercial applications , and their batteries sell at a serious premium to any other.

Like I said, watch the space. If you like some other manufacturer, any offence taken is purely imaginary.

[sgiitk]

Excellent. We can expect some spin offs in India since Jaguar is a Tata product. What I will like to see are cars with a decent range (say 300+km) with near full use of AC. Right now most are 100km or so.