JLR developing technology-neutral vehicle architecture
In an interview with the magazine Automobil Produktion, JLR head of production Wolfgang Stadler explained the development of a modern architecture for vehicles, regardless of their drive principle, as a central task for the company. Stadler did not specify an exact time when the new architecture should be ready. However, he said that JLR is working “at full speed” on the development, the introduction will take place “in the near future”.
JLR also intends to offer an electrical version of each production model by 2020. According to Stadler, the development of a platform for purely battery-powered vehicles is “not an option for JLR.” It is not yet known to what extent and when battery-powered cars will become established. For a “relatively small manufacturer” like JLR, it would be “irresponsible” to rely on the development of such an electrical platform right now.
In the new JLR plant in Nitra, Slovakia, where production of the Land Rover Discovery is scheduled to start in September, the production of combustion engines and plug-in hybrids is already possible. According to Stadler, an modification to accomodate pure electric drive is also feasible with little effort. His first electrically powered car, the Jaguar i-Pace, is built by JLR near Magna in Graz (Austria).
In addition to the units directly connected to the Powertrain, such an architecture also requires a different approach as to the electronics. In this context, JLR is already developing a more centralized control system for its cars. In an interview, JLR electronics development manager Ged Lancaster said earlier this year that the company plans to create a “virtual signal space” for all relevant control signals in the car. “Our goal is to optimize the input and output signals in terms of cabling, to make the signals redistributable and reusable and to route them to powerful, versatile platform computers”, Lancaster said. “In the long term, the development is aimed at making these (computing) platforms adaptable and expandable so that new features and functions can be downloaded and used wherever the processing capacity is available. This makes them fully redundant and fail-safe at the same time.”
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