JLR Investing in EV Production for Sustainable Luxury
Luxury vehicles have traditionally been associated with high fuel consumption and emissions.
Modern luxury consumers are increasingly shifting to be environmentally conscious, with a growing demand for sustainable vehicles that don’t compromise on luxury performance.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a £500m (US$668m) investment to transform its historic Halewood, UK facility in preparation for electric vehicle (EV) production.
Andrea Debbane, Director of Sustainability at JLR, says: “Reimagining JLR means looking at every facet of our business with a sustainability mindset, including the transformation of historic sites like Halewood into more sustainable ‘factories of the future’.
“Through a mix of renewables, fuel switching and energy efficiency projects, we are aiming to remove 40,000 tonnes of CO2e from Halewood’s industrial footprint by 2031.”
Andrea spoke at Sustainability LIVE London 2024 as part of a panel on Women in Sustainability.
Preparation for EVs in Halewood
The Merseyside-based facility transformation will utilise renewable energy with plans to install 18,000 photovoltaic panels that will cover 10% of the site’s energy consumption.
This is part of a wider JLR strategy to deliver more than a third of its global energy use from self-generated renewables.
Solar car parks have been installed at the site to offer low carbon charging for employees and visitors.
Halewood’s existing paint shop has been refurbished to save 2.4 tonnes of CO2e per day – a total of 565 tonnes per year.
This includes installation of a hydrogen-enabled boiler that can be powered with green hydrogen in preparation for the facility to be fully decarbonised in the future.
JLR is redeploying thousands of pieces of refurbished equipment including robots, joining equipment and automated vehicles, saving more than £16m (US$21.4m) and contributing to a circular economy.
Reuben Chorley, Sustainable Industrial Operations Director at JLR, says: “At JLR Halewood, we're driving transformation through circular principles: use less, extend the life of what we have, and reuse wherever possible.
“By repurposing equipment from other sites, we're not just cutting costs - we're making smarter, more sustainable choices.
JLR’s upskilling efforts for electrification
JLR also announced it has trained more than 25,000 JLR colleagues and partners in electrification and digital skills as part of its Future Skills Programme.
As of May 2024, more than 2,400 manufacturing employees in UK production facilities have been trained with EV skills and more than 95% of retail partner technicians are ready to service JLR’s next generation of luxury EVs.
The company says this training is creating more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds as EV work is often more process-oriented than traditional ICE manual labour.
“The realisation of our Reimagine strategy is dependent on the skill of our people and a more diverse workforce brings additional strength,” says Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director of Industrial Operations at JLR.
The JLR Reimagine strategy
JLR’s Reimagine strategy lays out a plan for the company to become a carbon net zero business by 2039.
There are four pillars to this strategy:
- Modern luxury
- Electrification
- Sustainability
- Enterprise
Electrification is central to the strategy. By 2030, Range Rover, Discovery and Defender collections will all offer 100% electric options and Jaguar will be entirely electric.
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