Jaguar Land Rover plans surge of EVs, plug-in hybrids

LOS ANGELES -- Up to half of Jaguar Land Rover's lineup will be plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles by 2020, but none will be self-driving, says Ralf Speth, the company's CEO.

JLR is banking on the growing need for zero-emissions vehicles forced by government regulations, customer acceptance and government incentives, said Speth.

"For a small company like us, this is a huge challenge and it will stretch the organization," Speth said in an interview at the auto show here. But, he said, it also proves that JLR "can be really advanced."

Jaguar displayed the I-Pace Concept EV crossover at the show. Executives said a production version -- Jaguar's first EV-- will follow in 2018.

Speth warned that with the development cost of an EV at 2.5 times higher than that of a combustion vehicle, "higher economies of scale have to happen." 

On the other hand, JLR is not following the competition and plunging into development of autonomous vehicles because of safety concerns, Speth said. 

"We need more technology and millions more lines of code," he said. "Let's wait a little bit. It may be too conservative, but I do it purposely." 

Speth said the U.S. will be the major market for the high-performance I-Pace. The vehicle will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 4 seconds, and the flat floor allows for a spacious interior, he said. 

What's "not clear," Speth said, is whether customers will accept the new design direction of the I-Pace, especially its short hood. Buyers are used to Jaguar's long hood for "the more powerful horses," he said. 

Speth and Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO Joe Eberhardt, who also attended a roundtable with reporters before press days at the show, would not disclose I-Pace pricing. 

"It depends on where the market will migrate to," Eberhardt said. 

Speth said the major concern with self-driving cars is that current technology "is not safe enough." 

He said the first uses should be in trucks on closed roadways "so you have easier territory rather than bringing them into the middle of the city."