Range Rover Evoque-e project

Jaguar Land Rover is to lead an electric-vehicle project based on its Range Rover Evoque model. The group will contribute £4 million towards the two-year Evoque-e project, which is being run by the Technology Strategy Board. JLR will head a consortium of eight partners from industry and three from universities.

The firms involved are: Zytek Automotive; GKN Driveline; Motor Design; AVL; Drive System Design; Williams Advanced Engineering and Delta Motorsport. The universities comprise Bristol, Cranfield and Newcastle. Starting in October, the consortium will design, develop and build research vehicles showcasing next-generation power-train concepts for a ‘mild’ hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid and an electric-battery vehicle.

Peter Richings, JLR director for hybrids and electrification, said: “The aim of the project is to develop technology platforms that are configurable and compatible within the architecture of an existing production vehicle. The research teams will look at how to increase the speed of the electric motor — and how to reduce its size, weight and cost while enhancing performance and durability.”