BMW and Jaguar Land Rover are teaming up to build the next generation of EV architecture.
You know the human race is long past World War 2 when the Germans and English start working together on something.
In this case, it’s BMW and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the latest companies teaming up to develop the next generation of electric drive units.
“Cooperation between car manufacturers to share know-how and resources is important as the automotive industry tackles the significant technological challenges of autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and services (ACES),” said BMW in a press statement.
Starting next year, BMW will introduce the fifth generation of its eDrive technology (called Gen 5) with the BMW iX3 Sports Activity Vehicle.
That Gen 5 electric drive unit will underpin future collaboration with JLR, BMW said.
Currently the BMW group has the i8, i3 and i3S, and will soon show off the first-ever all-electric Mini.
JLR itself is no stranger to electrification technology, being the first mainstream manufacturer to debut an electric vehicle (EV) in the form of the hugely capable I-Pace, whose review you can read here.
Gen 5, BMW says, is its most sophisticated electrified technology to date.
It features an electric motor, transmission and power electronics in one housing.
Importantly, the electric motor does not require rare earths to function, which lessens the group’s dependence on a material that has been swept up in renewed Sino-US trade disputes.
Such cooperation will bring benefits to both firms: they can take advantage of cost savings arising from shared development and production
planning costs as well as economies of scale from joint purchasing.
“With Jaguar Land Rover, we found a partner whose requirements for the future generation of electric drive units significantly match ours,” said member of BMW’s board for development Klaus Fröhlich.
“Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market.”
The development of multiple new technologies is required for the company to meet customer and regulatory requirements around the world, BMW said.
This is good news. The company can continue to improve its combustion engines, while also developing its e-mobility strategy with both battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids and also invest in new technologies like fuel–cell powertrains.
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