Electrifying boost for JLR EV plans! Jaguar Land Rover gets £500 million loan guarantee

It's a major development for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The UK government has granted a £500-million loan guarantee to JLR to build electric cars in the United Kingdom.  UK PM Theresa May has confirmed the development. The announcement was made by May in a meeting with automotive industry leaders, Express UK reported.

Shares of Tata Motors were among the most traded ones on the NSE in India.

It's been reported that electric Jaguar XJ is being developed by JLR.

The development comes close on the heels of the announcement that Jaguar Land Rover is making a multi-million pound investment to build electric vehicles in Britain. It is a major boost for the UK government and a sector hit by the slump in diesel sales and Brexit uncertainty. 

Britain`s biggest car company, which built 30 percent of the UK`s 1.5 million cars last year, will make a range of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich plant in central England, beginning with its luxury saloon, the XJ. 

"The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK," Chief Executive Ralf Speth said.

(Reuters photo)

The announcement gives a boost to Britain`s automotive sector hit this year by Honda and Ford`s plans to close factories.  The carmaker is undergoing a turnaround designed to offer an electrified option to all of its new models from 2020 as it seeks to move away from its reliance on diesel vehicles which are being increasingly shunned by buyers.

Jaguar also called on the government to bring giga-scale battery production to the country so that Britain is not left behind in the rush to produce low and zero-emissions vehicles and technology. Britain`s business minister Greg Clark said the government was doing all it can to meet that goal.