The UK’s export credit agency is standing behind Jaguar Land Rover’s £650m push into electric vehicles.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is backing 80% (£500m) of a loan by 12 banks that will support the research, development and export of the next range of battery-powered Range Rovers.
The loan will support JLR’s plans to invest about £2.5bn a year, expected to reach £3bn by March 2026, to increase the number of battery-powered vehicles in its model line-up, a government statement said.
Export led
Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK’s largest exporters and employs more than 28,000 staff in the UK. In 2020-21, the company sold 439,588 vehicles in 127 countries, with about 80% of its sales to export markets outside the UK.
Trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the deal would create jobs, boost manufacturing and level up across the UK.
“We are backing our ambitious net zero plans with more concrete action. We want our carmakers to accelerate the production of electric vehicles in the UK.”
Electric charge
The group has said that all Jaguar cars will be fully electric from 2025 and there will be five new zero-emission Range Rovers launched in the next five years, reports the Times.
JLR, which is part of the Tata Motors group and listed on the Indian stock market, has announced a 38% fall in sales to 80,000 vehicles in the three months to the end of December.
Car manufacturers around the world have been hit hard as they struggle to secure supplies of semiconductors, reports the BBC.
“Whilst semiconductor supplies have continued to constrain sales this quarter, we continue to see very strong demand for our products underlining the desirability of our vehicles,” said JLR's chief executive Thierry Bolloré.
Chips down
The company warned that it expects the chip shortage to continue throughout this year but expects supplies to gradually improve.
According to Sky, Britain’s biggest car maker accumulated losses of £421m in the first three quarters of 2021.
However, its mix of electric and hybrid vehicle sales has risen to 69%, up from 53% in the same period in 2020.
The company currently has 155,000 orders to fulfil, an increase of 30,000 units over the second quarter, which it attributes to “strong demand for the new Range Rover”, reports Autocar.
