Autocar UK – 31 July 2019

3 1 JULY 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9

J

aguar is plotting two

small crossovers to grow

its SUV family as it looks

to bolster waning sales

• and they could ultimately be
  built on BMW platforms as part

of increasing ties between the

two firms.

The deal between the two

companies, which started

with joint work on electric

drive unit (EDU) development,

also opens up the prospect

of the introduction of a new

entry-level Land Rover model

alongside next-generation

versions of the recently

replaced Range Rover Evoque

and Land Rover Discovery

Sport built off the BMW

architecture.

The blossoming alliance

between Jaguar Land Rover

(JLR) and BMW has already

expanded. Autocar sources

have recently revealed that

the German car maker is set

to supply JLR with four

and six-cylinder internal

combustion engines in both

standard and hybrid form.

That move to sharing

engines has now opened the

real possibility that JLR and

BMW are aligning themselves

to take a much bigger step:

sharing an advanced small

car platform.

A pair of super-economical

baby Jaguars – already in the

early stages of development

pending a green light for

production in the middle of

the next decade – could now

be based on BMW’s new

FAAR platform for front-

wheel-drive models.

The two new models are

expected to be a small SUV

and a similarly sized coupé

crossover and they are likely to

carry the ‘Pace’ name as part

of the firm’s SUV family.

In addition, the next-

generation Range Rover

Evoque and Land Rover

Discovery Sport models, which

are due in the second half of

the next decade, could be

sibling vehicles to the next-

generation Mini Countryman

and BMW X1 models in a further

deepening of the alliance.

An expansion into platform

sharing also opens the

way for JLR to build the

long-rumoured entry-level

Land Rover model, which,

as Autocar revealed early

last year, could revive the

Freelander name.

THE BMW DEAL

Meeting challenging EU CO 2

fleet regulations by 2025 is a

race against time for JLR. The

company is hampered by a

collapsing market in China as

well as massive investments in

the new MLA architecture for

its larger models, factory refits

and the launch of a number

of new models. The firm

lost £395 million in the last

financial quarter but believes

those new models will boost

fortunes. These include the

reborn Land Rover Defender,

electric Jaguar XJ, fifth-gen

Range Rover, new Jaguar

J-Pace SUV, and a new electric

Range Rover crossover.

The engine collaboration

came hot on the heels of the

surprise announcement in

June about plans for JLR and

BMW to co-operate on the

development of powertrains

for future pure-electric and

electrified vehicles.

When that deal was

announced, Nick Rogers,

JLR’s engineering chief, said:

“It was clear from discussions

with BMW Group that both ◊

`

The blossoming alliance between

JLR and BMW has expanded

beyond electric drive units

a

New Jag SUV (far

left) and crossover

will join Pace line-up