Auto Express 1583

AS a title that follows the news agenda, we make no excuses for the amount of space we dedicate to electrified cars in Auto Express. It’s where we’re headed, whether we like it or not. Or at least that’s what our government keeps telling us. That being the case, I’m not alone in airing my frustration that our legislators aren’t doing more to encourage both British expertise in the area of electric vehicles and more people to buy them. One man who is clearly frustrated is Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Ralf Speth (above). I know from conversations we’ve had in the past that he feels more should be done on charging infrastructure, for example. And speaking at the announcement that JLR was investing hundreds of millions of pounds on building electrified cars…

IF you’re still one of those who doubts the future of electric mobility, then Volkswagen’s forthcoming ID.3 hatchback should be enough to push you over the line. That’s our conclusion after a short drive in a prototype of the new model around Wolfsburg recently. And just to confirm this opinion, we brought along a current e-Golf to help size up the first offering from VW’s pure-electric ID. sub-brand. To recap, the new ID.3 will be offered with a choice of three battery sizes, giving 205, 261 or 342 miles of range. And the entry point of the line-up should start from around £26,000 or less. We begin our assessment by revisiting the current VW pure-electric hatch – but the e-Golf already feels like it’s old tech. While it serves a purpose, with a…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler ● Jag XJ will be the first to arrive in 2021 ● All three new models use MLA platform “The new Crossover is some of design director Gerry McGovern’s finest work yet” JAGUAR Land Rover has confirmed a multi-million pound investment in its Castle Bromwich plant to build electric cars (see panel, Page 12), and Auto Express can exclusively reveal the three models that will start rolling down production lines from early 2021. The biggest news is the first Land Rover product to be built at Castle Brom – and a ground-breaking one at that. The new Range Rover Crossover (it definitely won’t be called Road Rover, despite speculation) will follow an all-electric Jaguar XJ and Jaguar J-Pace SUV. The Crossover, previewed in our exclusive image, will use JLR’s new Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), revealed…

AS a title that follows the news agenda, we make no excuses for the amount of space we dedicate to electrified cars in Auto Express. It’s where we’re headed, whether we like it or not. Or at least that’s what our government keeps telling us. That being the case, I’m not alone in airing my frustration that our legislators aren’t doing more to encourage both British expertise in the area of electric vehicles and more people to buy them. One man who is clearly frustrated is Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Ralf Speth (above). I know from conversations we’ve had in the past that he feels more should be done on charging infrastructure, for example. And speaking at the announcement that JLR was investing hundreds of millions of pounds on building…

JLR has safeguarded thousands of jobs and committed to building electric vehicles in the UK with its multi-billion-pound investment at the Castle Bromwich site. Britain’s biggest car maker has suffered a series of setbacks over the past 12 months, axing jobs and investment to offset dwindling sales, in part because of JLR’s reliance on diesel, which has fallen out of favour with consumers. The plant at Castle Bromwich will be completely overhauled during the summer. “This facility will give us flexibility to develop EVs and hybrid vehicles alongside our diesel cars, giving customers even greater choice,” JLR’s CEO Ralf Speth said. Asked about the size of the investment JLR had made at the site, Speth added: “If you introduce new architectures it’s not millions but billions, spread over a number of years.” The…

IF you’re still one of those who doubts the future of electric mobility, then Volkswagen’s forthcoming ID.3 hatchback should be enough to push you over the line. That’s our conclusion after a short drive in a prototype of the new model around Wolfsburg recently. And just to confirm this opinion, we brought along a current e-Golf to help size up the first offering from VW’s pure-electric ID. sub-brand. To recap, the new ID.3 will be offered with a choice of three battery sizes, giving 205, 261 or 342 miles of range. And the entry point of the line-up should start from around £26,000 or less. We begin our assessment by revisiting the current VW pure-electric hatch – but the e-Golf already feels like it’s old tech. While it serves a…