Ford stops building JLR V8 engines, JLR takes over.
It would be difficult to imagine Jaguar or Ranger Rover without the idea of V8 engines.
For both these storied British luxury car nameplates, the V8-powered models are where they make most of their profits. And for many years those engines have been supplied to Jaguar and Land Rover, by Ford.
This agreement has now run its course, with Ford deciding to close its Bridgend engine facility in Wales, creating a potential problem for JLR.
Although both Jaguar and Land Rover are committed to a future of hybridization and battery powertrains, for the next few years, the AJ-V8 engines will very much continue to feature. The design dates back to 1997 and has served both Jaguar and Land Rover tremendously well
Outside of Europe, with its strict emission regulations, many customers prefer their Jaguars and Range Rovers with V8 engines. This is especially true in America and the Middle-East, which are two crucial markets for JLR.
Desperate to not disrupt its V8 engine supply chain, JLR is about to embark on an industrial engineering intervention. It has agreed to purchase the machinery and tooling relevant to its V8 engine range, from Ford.
Not only will JLR now finally own the machines to make its own V8 engines again, but it will uplift these assets from Wales and rehome them in Wolverhampton, England. A buffer number of AJ-V8s have been built, to ensure that customer deliveries are not delayed during the transitioning period, which is scheduled for the end of September.
To ensure engine quality is not adversely influenced by the move, JLR is considering offering employment to some of the staff who worked on their V8 engines in Ford’s Bridgend facility.
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Original Story by www.cars.co.za
