There’s been a trend lately of automotive powerhouses teaming forces to leverage the electric car market. Add BMW and Jaguar Land Rover to the mix. The 2 European car companies have decided to partner in development of electric motors, transmissions and power electronics.
“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,” said Klaus Froehlich, a BMW board member
Teaming Up in a Challenging Market
The move comes as both companies have struggled to maintain profit among falling car sales and escalating costs. At the same time, both need to invest in new technologies — especially green energy as environmental standards become more stringent and consumers demand more environmentally friendly alternatives.
“Carmakers are much less precious about sharing electric car technology because it is much harder to create product differentiation with electric car tech,” stated Carl-Peter Forster, a former chief executive of Tata Motors and a former BMW executive. “They all accelerate fast, and everybody can do quality and ride and handling.”
Collaborative Research, Separate Products
Both companies will save costs through shared research, shared production planning, and by jointly buying electric car components. As both companies develop the technology, they’ll each produce their own electric drivetrains that result from the collaboration.
“We’ve proven we can build world-beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products,” said Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover’s engineering director.
The push for electric technology, as well as smart and self driving tech, will demand that more companies team up for the greater good. We’re all for that at our auto repair shop in Cincinnati. It makes for a better world — which is a win-win for everybody!
