Industri automotif semakin mepada kitar semula bahan untuk mengurangkan kesan alam sekitar. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) baru-baru ini mengumumkan satu inovasi besar: kejayaan mengitar semula busa tempat duduk poliuretana untuk digunakan dalam tempat duduk kenderaan baharu, menjadikannya syarikat automotif pertama mencapai pencapaian ini.
Pelaksanaan Kitar Semula dalam Pengeluaran
Bahan busa kitar semula ini kini sedang menjalani proses pengeluaran penuh dan dijadualkan digunakan dalam kenderaan pra-pengeluaran awal tahun depan. Langkah ini memperkukuh komitmen lama JLR terhadap kitar semula, yang bermula lebih daripada satu dekad lalu dengan usaha mengitar semula aluminium sekerap dari kilang pengecapnya.
Pada tahun 2011, JLR turut memperkenalkan 16 kilogram plastik kitar semula dalam komponen seperti pelapik kepala dan penutup tempat duduk pada Range Rover Evoque asal, bersama dengan 21 kilogram bahan boleh diperbaharui seperti kapas dan kadbod.
Recycling has become a pivotal focus for automakers, with advancements continuing to reshape the industry. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a significant step forward in sustainability by successfully recycling polyurethane seat foam for use in new car seats. According to the company, this innovation marks a first in the automotive sector.
Currently undergoing the full production process, the recycled material will debut in pre-production vehicles early next year. This development builds on JLR’s longstanding commitment to recycling, which began over a decade ago with the full-scale recycling of scrap aluminium at its stamping plants. In 2011, the original Range Rover Evoque incorporated 16 kilograms of recycled plastics, used in components such as headliners, seat covers, centre consoles, and wheel-arch liners, alongside 21 kilograms of renewable materials like cotton and cardboard.
Recycling polyurethane foam, however, presented a greater challenge. Achieving this milestone required a collaborative effort involving JLR, Dow Mobility Science, and automotive seat manufacturer Adient, with key research conducted at the JLR Circularity Lab in Gaydon. The lab plays a crucial role in assessing the feasibility of reintroducing materials into the supply chain at the same quality level, a critical consideration for automotive production.
Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia (JLR Malaysia) kekal unggul dalam segmen automotif mewah, menyerlahkan komitmen tidak berbelah bahagi ke arah kecemerlangan. Sekali lagi, jenama berkenaan merangkul gelaran berprestij Retailer of the Year (Asia Pasifik) pada Anugerah Jaguar Land Rover Retailer 2023/2024 baru-baru ini. Pencapaian luar biasa ini menandakan kemenangan kelima JLR Malaysia dan tahun keempat berturut-turut di tempat teratas, mengukuhkan kedudukannya sebagai peneraju dalam sektor automotif mewah.
Anugerah Retailer of the Year berkenaan mengiktiraf kecemerlangan konsisten JLR Malaysia menerusi penilaian menyeluruh yang merangkumi pemasaran, jualan, perkhidmatan pelanggan, latihan kakitangan dan prestasi peruncit. Kejayaan berulang itu mencerminkan keupayaan JLR Malaysia untuk bukan sahaja memenuhi, tetapi melangkaui piawaian tertinggi industri tahun demi tahun.
Tonggak kepada kejayaan JLR Malaysia ialah nilai teras Sime Motors iaitu “Care for All, Act with Integrity and Win Together”. Prinsip-prinsip ini telah menjadi penggerak di sebalik kejayaan syarikat, memupuk budaya kolaboratif dan mengutamakan pelanggan merangkumi setiap aspek operasinya.
The upcoming electric Range Rover, based on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA Flex) platform, is inching closer to production and release. The electric SUV is expected to retain the luxurious design of its gas-powered and plug-in hybrid counterparts, aligning with the brand’s emphasis on electrification. Sharing the MLA Flex platform allows the electric Range Rover to maintain its off-road capabilities, a hallmark of the Range Rover lineup.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has initiated rigorous testing for the electric Range Rover, subjecting prototypes to various conditions, including extreme temperatures and challenging terrains. The electric SUV is designed to handle off-road adventures, consistent with the capabilities of traditional internal combustion engine Range Rovers.
Key details, such as battery sizes and estimated driving range, are yet to be officially disclosed. However, the electric Range Rover will feature an 800-volt architecture, enabling ultra-fast charging. The batteries and electric motors for the model will be produced at JLR’s Wolverhampton factory in the UK, while the final assembly will take place alongside the regular Range Rover in Solihull, UK.
As announced recently, the Land Rover name as a brand will no longer be used by JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover), and the Defender, Range Rover and Discovery will become brand names rather than just model lines. It’s part of the ‘House of Brands’ approach in the company’s Reimagine roadmap moving forward.
For a start, the Defender brand will have an additional model – the new Defender 130 Outbound – along with the Defender 130 V8. These join the Defender 110 which will now be available with a new heritage-inspired County Exterior Pack, the Hardtop commercial model, and the advanced P400e PHEV variant.
One of Britain’s most cherished automakers, Land Rover, is no more. As the custodian of the four brands Jaguar, Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender, it is currently known simply as JLR.
They are all turning electric now and a significant £15 billion (RM82.6 billion) investment in the UK automobile industry proves it.
There are likely to be many who grieve JLR’s decision to stop using the Land Rover name; it receives not a single mention in the press releases.
Having been around for 75 years, Land Rover is a brand name that is recognisable all over the world. Its original Defender model had a highly recognisable shape which is embedded in the brand’s design DNA. It is associated with 4×4 vehicles in the same way as Jeep and in fact, spread further around the world than the American brand.
In spite having periods of difficulty at different times in its history, Land Rover soldiered on like the tough vehicles it has produced. Although it can lay claim to having given the world the first premium SUV – the Range Rover – back in 1970, it only truly entered the premium segment when the 21st century began.
The success of the Range Rover in the premium segment led to the company establishing its name as a brand on its own around 10 years ago. The Range Rover brand would be for the premium models while Land Rover would be for models like the Freelander, Discovery and Defender.
Aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2039, in line with the Reimagine strategy announced last month, Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) aim includes zero tailpipe emissions from its vehicles by 2036. This means that internal combustion engines will no longer be used. Electrical power is the most viable solution for future powertrains as they will have zero emissions, and JLR is developing various prototypes.
Fuel cells, spin-offs from the space program, are being considered by a number of manufacturers, some of whom already have commercialised fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). JLR is also looking to use a hydrogen fuel cell and is developing a prototype FCEV based on the latest Land Rover Defender.
Advantages of hydrogen FCEV
FCEVs, which generate electricity from hydrogen to power an electric motor, are complimentary to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on the journey to net zero vehicle emissions. Hydrogen-powered FCEVs provide high energy density and rapid refuelling, and minimal loss of range in low temperatures, making the technology ideal for larger, longer-range vehicles, or those operated in hot or cold environments.
Since 2018, the global number of FCEVs on the road has nearly doubled while hydrogen refuelling stations have increased by more than 20%. By 2030, forecasts predict hydrogen-powered FCEV deployment could top 10 million with 10,000 refuelling stations worldwide.
JLR’s advanced engineering project, known as Project Zeus, is partly funded by the government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre, and will allow engineers to understand how a hydrogen powertrain can be optimised to deliver the performance and capability expected by its customers: from range to refuelling, and towing to off-road ability.
The Defender’s platform, which can accommodate combustion engines as well as hybrid powertrains, is also being used for the development of a fuel cell electric vehicle.
The project also has other partners involved such as Delta Motorsport, AVL, Marelli Automotive Systems and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to research, develop and create the prototype FCEV with testing scheduled to begin this year. The testing, in the UK, will verify key attributes such as off-road capability and fuel consumption.
“We know hydrogen has a role to play in the future powertrain mix across the whole transport industry, and alongside battery electric vehicles, it offers another zero tailpipe emission solution for the specific capabilities and requirements of Jaguar Land Rover’s world class line-up of vehicles. The work done alongside our partners in Project Zeus will help us on our journey to become a net zero carbon business by 2039, as we prepare for the next generation of zero tailpipe emissions vehicles,” said Ralph Clague, Head of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells for Jaguar Land Rover.
A Land Rover factory in the UK.
Producton facilities are carbon neutral
JLR was the first UK automotive manufacturer to have met the internationally recognised PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality across its vehicle manufacturing assembly operations and product development sites. In January last year, its facilities completed a second consecutive year being certified as carbon-neutral by the Carbon Trust. Together, these sites represent 77% of JLR’S global vehicle production.
The Carbon Trust re-certification is part of the carmaker’s journey to ‘Destination Zero’, after it was originally achieved two years ahead of a commitment to operate carbon-neutral UK manufacturing by 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on changes to many different aspects of life to fight the coronavirus. One of the important measures is the reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses, which can be on the many surfaces we come in contact with. Researchers are also beginning to find that the viruses can float in the air for a while too.
For the auto industry, urgent work has been carried out to develop systems and switch to materials that can help in the fight against bacteria and viruses. The latest development is from Jaguar Land Rover which, together with the University of Cambridge, has a new contactless touchscreen technology. This will also help keep drivers’ eyes on the road, improving motoring safety.
The patented technology, known as ‛predictive touch’, uses artificial intelligence and sensors to predict a user’s intended target on the touchscreen – whether that’s satellite navigation, temperature controls or entertainment settings – without actually touching a button.
The pioneering system, developed with engineers at the University of Cambridge, is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘Destination Zero’ vision – a desire to make its vehicles safer and the environment cleaner and healthier.
In the ‘new normal’ once lockdowns around the world are lifted, a greater emphasis will be placed on safe, clean mobility where personal space and hygiene will carry premiums. Jaguar Land Rover vehicles are already designed to help improve passenger wellbeing, with innovations including a Driver Condition Monitor, engine noise cancellation and cabin air ionisation with PM2.5 filtration to capture ultrafine particles and allergens.
New technology like predictive touch is another step forward in addressing the wider landscape of mobility, from how customers connect with mobility services, to the infrastructure required to enable fully integrated, autonomous vehicles in cities.
Lab tests and on-road trials have shown the predictive touch technology could reduce a driver’s touchscreen interaction effort and time by up to 50%. At the same time, this will limit the spread of bacteria and viruses from the touchscreen surface to fingers.
Uneven or poor road surfaces can often cause vibrations that make it difficult to select the correct button on a touchscreen. This means drivers must take their attention away from the road, increasing the risk of an accident. The technology uses artificial intelligence to determine the item the user intends to select on the screen early in the pointing task, speeding up the interaction.
A gesture tracker uses vision-based or radio frequency-based sensors, which are increasingly common in consumer electronics, to combine contextual information such as user profile, interface design and environmental conditions with data available from other sensors, such as an eye-gaze tracker, to infer the user’s intent in real time.
Existing displays need not be replaced as the technology is a software-based solution using artificial intelligence.
This software-based solution for contactless interactions has reached high technology readiness levels. It can be seamlessly integrated into existing touchscreens and interactive displays, so long as the correct sensory data is available to support the machine learning algorithm. This means that existing systems do not need to change, keeping costs down.
“As countries around the world exit lockdown, we notice how many everyday consumer transactions are conducted using touchscreens: railway or cinema tickets, ATMs, airport check-ins and supermarket self-service checkouts, as well as many industrial and manufacturing applications. Predictive touch technology eliminates the need to touch an interactive display and could therefore reduce the risk of spreading bacteria or viruses on surfaces,” said Lee Skrypchuk, Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover.
“The technology also offers us the chance to make vehicles safer by reducing the cognitive load on drivers and increasing the amount of time they can spend focused on the road ahead. This is a key part of our Destination Zero journey.”
To celebrate 70 years of adventure, Land Rover is bringing the Above and Beyond Tour to Malaysia. This year’s tour was recently held in Penang, and now it comes to Kuala Lumpur this weekend, 17th & 18th November 2018, providing participants with the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the signature capability and composure that is at the heart of the Land Rover’s DNA.
This year’s Above and Beyond Tour will see participants take on a series of custom-made obstacles that have been designed to simulate the challenging terrain of the great outdoors. Under the expert guidance of Land Rover Experience instructors, participants will be able to drive either the Range Rover Velar or the Discovery Sport through a wading pool, side slope and a bumpy course section. Spanning 15-metre-long and 600mm deep, the wading pool replicates the difficulty of navigating a flooded road or forging across a shallow river.
Nonetheless, the Range Rover Velar and Discovery Sport’s class-leading wading depth will enable participants to overcome this challenge with ease before taking on the bumpy course. Designed to simulate a deeply rutted or rock strewn ground, the bumpy course will allow participants to appreciate first-hand Land Rover’s Terrain Response® system and remarkably rigid chassis, which enables the vehicle to conquer the most difficult of terrain. The off-road driving experience climaxes on a sideway tilt on the side slope course. At almost a 45° angle, participants will be treated to an unforgettably thrilling experience while witnessing the unsurpassed off-road capability of Land Rover vehicles.
In addition to the simulated off-road experience, participants will also have the opportunity to take on three fun challenges that could win them a once-in-a-lifetime driving adventure on the Above and Beyond Tour Grand Finale in New Zealand. The first of these is the Ring Fenced challenge, where participants have three minutes to drive into an enclosed circular space, make a complete 180° turn and exit the course. The second is the Auto Test challenge, which consists of a narrow ‘L’-shaped bend; participants will have three minutes to navigate the course, before having to reverse and return to their initial starting position. The last, entitled “What’s Wrong with My Car”, challenges participants to identify missing parts or non-functioning features on a Land Rover display vehicle. The participant with the best score from both the Penang and Kuala Lumpur events will be the overall winner from Malaysia.
The Above and Beyond Tour is by invitation or registration only. Members of public interested in participating in the Above and Beyond Tour are invited to visit the official event page at www.landrover.com.my/abtfor information on how to register. Successful registrants will be contacted via email. Slots on the Above and Beyond Tour are limited. Interested individuals are encouraged to register as early as possible.
Guidelines for the A&B Tour:
Participants must be at least 18 years old and hold a valid driver’s license.
Above and Beyond Tour Kuala Lumpur takes place at The International Gallery at ALYA Kuala Lumpur
Date: 17 and 18 November 2018
Time: 9am to 5pm
Address: No. 2A, Jalan Bukit Kiara 1, Bukit Kiara, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
