Jaguar has approved production of its first all-electric vehicle which is expected to hit the market in 2018.
According to Autocar, the new compact all-electric SUV is due to be revealed before the end of this year and will be called the E-Pace, though Jaguar has yet to confirm the name. The E-pace will be slightly smaller than its big brother the F-Pace, packing a lower roofline and more aggressive styling cues.
The new EV will be based on the Evoque E concept that was shown back in 2015 by Jaguar’s partners over at Land Rover. That concept used a 70 kWh lithium-ion battery though the production version is expected to use a larger battery to make sure the E-Pace can drive a distance of between 280 and 300 miles. The platform itself uses lots of aluminum to keep it lightweight and a large battery that’s packed into the floor to provide structural strength.
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Jaguar’s electric motors are designed in house and according to an unnamed Jaguar Land Rover engineer, they will be about 60 percent cheaper to produce in material costs over conventionally designed electric motors thanks to the use of aluminum winding and the deletion of rare earth magnets. The front motor makes 114 horsepower while the rear is good for 195 hp, combining for a total output of 308 hp. Having a twin motor setup will allow Jaguar to make use of torque vectoring along with the ability to switch from all-wheel to rear-wheel drive.
An all-electric Range Rover based on a larger version of the same platform is expected to arrive in the future, but not before 2019.
[Source: Autocar]
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