JLR’s top man, Ralf Speth confirmed that Magna Steyr will build Jaguar’s first all-electric model, the I-Pace in their factory in Austria.
The British electric crossover debuted in concept form at the LA Auto Show, with Jaguar planning to throw it into production as early as 2018.
Back in 2015, JLR had signed a contract with Magna Steyr to build two of its models at the latter’s Graz plant in Austria, without revealing which ones were going to be produced there. Jaguar Land Rover’s boss spoke to AutoNews confirming that Magna Steyr will be commissioned with the production of the electric Jaguar I-Pace.
He also declined to confirm whether the second model would also be an EV or whether it would be a Land Rover. Magna has already started preparing its Graz production facilities for the two JLR models, with marketing group IHS Automotive foreseeing a production of about 13,000 I-Paces in 2019, which is going to be the first full year of the model in the market.
Magna is currently building the Mercedes G-Class and the Mini Countryman in Austria, with the latter’s production to end this year and be replaced by the production of the BMW 5-Series.
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