Chery Chairman Yin Tongyao confirmed previous rumors about Jaguar Land Rover’s adoption of Chery’s platforms during the interview. JLR’s future PHEV and BEV models will stand on M3X and E0X modular architectures that underpin such cars as Exlantix ET, Exlantix ES, Luxeed 7, Luxeed R7, Exeed RX, Chery Tiggo 9, etc.

Chery and Jaguar Land Rover have a 12-year friendship story in China. Back in 2012, these companies formed a joint venture in China to manufacture Jaguar Land Rover cars. The jointly-owned factory started operating in 2014 and is still in business. JLR engineers helped Chery a lot with the suspension setup. Moreover, Land Rover cars became a huge inspiration for Chery designers. And now it is Chery’s turn to help JLR.

Jaguar Land Rover to adopt Chery’s modular architectures

Chery’s high-end brand Exeed recently shared that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Jaguar Land Rover. This agreement allows JLR to use Exeed’s platforms to create its future vehicles. Formally, it is an agreement between JLR and Exeed. However, that Chinese brand is fully owned by Chery Group. So, frankly speaking, we can call it an agreement between Indian Tata Motors and Chinese Chery Group.

Regarding the topic, Exeed confirmed that JLR will use two main platforms designed by Chery engineers. The first one is the M3X modular architecture. Its second generation is also known in China as T2X. Chery developed it with help from German Bentler. It is the platform dedicated to ICE vehicles and PHEVs. Of course, Jaguar Land Rover is mostly interested in the adoption of plug-in hybrid tech as it lags behind the NEV industry.

The M3X architecture can be equipped with Chery’s “Super Hybrid” powertrain. It comprises a petrol-powered ICE paired with two electric motors via a 3DHT165 gearbox. A few years back, this transmission was the world’s first gearbox to adopt two e-motors in one body. The main benefits of this DHT hybrid are nine operating modes, 11 gear combinations, over 1000-km range, and a thermal efficiency of 44.5%. The M3X (T2X) platform with DHT hybrid underpins such cars as Exeed RX PHEV, Chery Fulwin T9, etc.

The second modular architecture that Jaguar Land Rover cars will adopt is the E0X. It was developed jointly by Chery and Huawei. This chassis currently underpins four vehicles: Exlantix ES, Exlantix ET, Luxeed S7, and Luxeed R7. This platform covers various body shapes. It is suitable for both BEV and EREV cars. Other benefits of E0X are the utilization of the 800V high-voltage system, the stated energy consumption of 12 kWh/100 km, and advanced autonomous driving tech. E0X can also be equipped with air suspension. Overall, it is a high-end platform suitable for JLR’s electric cars and range extenders.

Editor’s comment

Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover lags behind the trend for new energy vehicles. Its only BEV, the Jaguar I-Pace, was launched six years ago. At the same time, JLR’s sales volume slowly declines. This problem is especially acute in China since there is a huge trend for NEVs. This is why the Tata-owned automaker asked for Chery’s help. Most likely, M3X and E0X-based Jaguars and Land Rovers will sell exclusively in the Chinese market to satisfy local buyers’ needs.

Worth mentioning Jaguar Land Rover isn’t the only automaker to adopt Chinese modular architectures to build NEVs. It is a growing trend among lots of automakers. For clarity, Mitsubishi Airtrek adopts GAC’s GEP; Smart and Lotus EVs are underpinned by Geely’s SEA; Renault cars will adopt Geely’s CMA; Volkswagen agreed to use E/E platform from Xpeng; future Audi vehicles will be underpinned by iO Origin platform from SAIC.

Source: Exeed Press-release