JLR opens new electric vehicle test centre for future BEVs from Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover and Defender

JLR opens a new facility in Coventry for the testing of new electric vehicles, investing £250 million and creating 350 jobs.

Jaguar Land Rover is somewhat behind the industry curve with its electric vehicle plans, with only the Jaguar i-Pace on offer. But it has big plans.

We expect to see an electric version of the Range Rover arrive next year – with other Range Rover, Defender and Discovery models to follow – and we’re promised a new range of high-end electric cars from a re-born Jaguar in the next few years.

Despite JLR’s slow moves down the electric road, they’re investing some £15 billion in the coming years to develop their new EVs, part of which is a £250 million investment in a new EV testing facility in the Midlands, which has now been unveiled.

JLR’s Future Energy Lab is in Whitley and will develop Electric Drive Units, has test rigs for electrical systems, and climate chambers for testing in extremes of hot and cold instead of shipping cars to Death Valley and Norway for testing.

The new facility already employs 200 with another 150 jobs planned.

The new facility is already busy undertaking hundreds of thousands of tests on the electric Range Rover and will be kept busy going forward as JLR plans eight new BEVs by 2030.