Ever since Ford announced that it would shut down its Bridgend plant next month, the future of JLR’s ‘AJ’ supercharged V8 came into question.
Now, Autocar reports that Jaguar Land Rover will take over production for the engine at its Wolverhampton site, with some transfer of workforce also possible. The AJ supercharged V8 is used in everything from the F-Type to the Range Rover.
“Manufacture of the JLR-designed V8 petrol engines previously made at Bridgend will move to the JLR Engine Manufacturing Center, with further detail to be confirmed at a later date,” said the carmaker.
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On Ford’s end, production at Bridgend is reportedly used mostly for third parties such as JLR now, with the assembly of Ford Sigma and Dragon engines taking a backseat to the ‘AJ’ supercharged V8. The facility has been building the V8 at an even higher rate than required in order to build up buffer supplies during the production shift.
Some sources speculate that the ‘AJ’ unit will remain in production for another three to five years, which would coincide with the launch of the more stringent EU7 emissions regulations in the European Union. Once that happens, JLR should adopt BMW’s 4.4-liter V8 as part of their powertrain deal.
While demand for V8 engines has gone down in Europe, buyers in the U.S. and the Middle East still love them. Aside from the V8, JLR is also expected to utilize six-cylinder diesel engines courtesy of its Bavarian partner.
