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UK car sector accelerates towards electric future
LONDON, July 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s auto industry, seeking to
swerve Brexit obstacles, is accelerating toward electrification as consumers
shun high-polluting diesels, driven by rapid advances in technology and
greener government policy.
Four famous car brands born in Britain but now foreign-owned — German-
held Bentley and Mini, Indian-backed Jaguar Land Rover, and Chinese-
controlled Lotus — have each this month outlined plans for purely electric
models to sit alongside their petrol vehicles.
All-electric cars, which need to be charged from the mains, and hybrids,
which combine electrics with petrol or gasoline engines, are gaining in
popularity as more consumers turn away from the pollution-spewing internal
combustion engine.
“You need to be into electrification,” Lotus Cars chief executive Phil
Popham told AFP in an interview after unveiling the firm’s first all-electric
sports car Evija — pronounced “E-vi-ya” — which the company will start
making next year.
Lotus, 51-percent owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, plans an initial sale
of only 130 of the supercars, which will each cost about o1.7 million ($2.1
million, 1.8 million euros).
– ‘Absolutely the future’ –
“Electrification is absolutely part of our future,” said Popham. “In the
not-too-distant future, all of our cars will offer electrification.”
Lotus’ plant in Hethel, eastern England, will see a o100-million
investment over the next five years as it ramps up its sports car range with
financial firepower and technical knowhow from Geely, which bought its
majority stake two years ago.
Etika Automotive of Malaysia holds the remaining 49 percent of Lotus.
Popham said the removal of large components, like the internal combustion
engine and gearbox, will see the so-called hypercar Evija have an electric
motor on each wheel.
It will reach 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds and have a top speed of
200 mph. Fully-charged however, it will be able to drive a distance of only
250 miles (400 kilometres).
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In the more affordable premium market, Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s
Tata Motors, is planning a range of electric vehicles at its central England
factory — starting with the next-generation Jaguar XJ luxury saloon model.
“The future of mobility is electric,” said JLR chief executive Ralf Speth,
whose company introduced its first electric vehicle I-PACE last year.
Elsewhere, BMW-division Mini recently launched plans for its first all-
electric Mini Cooper at its factory in Cowley, southern England.
“We’ll be able to really react to demand from customers as we go forward
because Mini electric (cars) go down exactly the same production line as the
traditional combustion engine product,” David George, director of Mini UK,
told AFP on a visit to the facility.
In Europe as a whole, the number of electric car models, including
hybrids, is set to triple by 2021, according to Brussels-based environmental
lobby group Transport & Environment.
A total 214 models will be available for purchase by 2021, up from 60 in
late 2018, T&E said.
– ‘Environmentally conscious’ –
“There is a growing trend for consumers to be looking for more
environmentally conscious and efficient products and technologies,” Bentley
chief executive Adrian Hallmark told AFP.
He was speaking in July after the Volkswagen-owned luxury carmaker
detailed its futuristic all-electric self-driving concept, the EXP 100 GT, at
its facility in central England.
When Nissan unveiled its first mass-market electric car hatchback Leaf
nine years ago, the Japanese carmaker described it as a “game-changer” for
Britain’s biggest car plant in Sunderland, northeastern England.
Since then, more and more carmakers have sped up plans for more
environmentally-friendly products — and also electrify their current
offerings.
However, Cardiff University economics professor and auto specialist Peter
Wells lamented the fact that many automakers were merely replicating electric
versions of pre-existing models — rather than optimising how they deploy
cutting-edge technology.
“The mindset is that the industry should simply replicate the existing
petrol/diesel product ranges, only in hybrid and electric,” said Wells.
“In my view this strategy can still result in less than optimised vehicle
designs,” he noted.
BSS/AFP/HR/1040