The recently agreed partnership between Jaguar Land Rover and BMW is set to expand to include internal combustion engines, a source with knowledge of recent high-level discussions between the two carmakers has exclusively told our sister publication Autocar UK.
The two companies had initially agreed to work together to develop electrified powertrains, but sources in the know say that the brands have now agreed on terms for a “more far-reaching deal involving petrol, diesel and hybridised drivelines” for a wide range of models.
According to Autocar’s sources, BMW will supply Jaguar Land Rover with internal combustion engines, including in-line four- and six-cylinder units “both with and without electrically-assisted hybrid functions”.
The move is said to be aimed at allowing Jaguar Land Rover to reduce its ongoing investment in petrol, diesel and hybrid engines and instead, focus its research and development spending on electric drivelines in partnership with BMW.
For the BMW Group, the deal safeguards existing research and development, procurement and production operations by adding volumes beyond its own brands: BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce.
News of the internal combustion engine deal being forged by Jaguar Land Rover and BMW comes at a time when regulatory authorities in key global markets are raising emission standards with a particular focus on CO2 and NOx levels to combat air pollution. This has raised the level of spending required to engineer petrol, diesel and hybrid drivelines.
By joining forces on both electric and internal combustion engine powertrains, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW hope to reap the rewards of increased economies of scale while sharing development costs to remain competitive.
Last month the two companies announced they would jointly invest in research and development, engineering and procurement of drivelines for volume production electric cars.
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