Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) recently announced it would be leading an advanced R&D project – the ‘Evoque_e’ – on powertrains for hybrid and battery-electric vehicles (BEV) based on the Range Rover Evoque platform.
‘Evoque_e’ is a two-year, Rs 168 crore (16.3 million pounds) project backed by the Technology Strategy Board, the innovation agency of the UK government. JLR will contribute Rs 41 crore (four million pounds) of the total, and will lead a 12-partner consortium comprising – aside from itself – eight industry players and three universities. The partners include Zytek Automotive, GKN Driveline, Motor Design Limited, AVL, Drive System Design, Williams Advanced Engineering, Delta Motorsport, Tata Steel, Bristol University, Cranfield University and Newcastle University. Starting in October 2013, this collaboration will create three vehicle concepts: a mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV), a Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and a full Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV).
Speaking about the project, Peter Richings, JLR Director – Hybrids and Electrification, said that the project aimed to develop configurable technology platforms that would be compatible within the architecture of an existing production vehicle. Modular technologies to be used include single and multi-speed axle drives, modular battery packs and integrated power electronics, multi-machine, advanced control development and torque vectoring. The research teams would work on improving the speed, performance and durability of the electric motor while reducing its size, weight and cost, and would also consider using alternative materials to minimise the use of rare earth materials and to optimise systems. “The outcome of the Evoque_e project will be new technologies with the potential for high volume production that are capable of delivering benchmark performance in terms of cost, weight and sustainable use of materials.”
Aside from this project, JLR will also showcase more collaborative research projects at the Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2013, the UK’s leading event for environmental automotive technology. These projects include the extreme downsizing of internal combustion engines, efficient management and storage of heat energies, and weight reduction of engines through innovative design concepts. Discussing these research projects, Dr Wolfgang Epple, JLR Director – Research and Technology said that JLR’s ambitious growth plans laid great emphasis on engineering and innovation, and the Evoque_e project would serve as a demonstration of the breadth of their capabilities in and commitment to advanced powertrain technology.”
