Jaguar Hits Pause On i-Pace Production With Battery Shortage: Report

Image : Andrew Collins

Jaguar’s electric tall wagon the i-Pace is a pretty good car, and it’s finally selling reasonably well for the British automaker, moving some 18,000 units across 2019. Unfortunately, that good sales streak may be coming to an end shortly as Jag pauses production for a week starting Monday, according to The Times. A battery shortage from LG Chem has affected Audi e-tron production in the past.

LG’s battery plant in Poland supplies batteries for Jaguar, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles and is currently a bottleneck in the supply chain for all three automakers. Jaguar’s i-Pace is built by Magna Steyr in Austria, and its supply of batteries has dwindled as of late.

This highlights a problem in the EV world right now, as many companies have committed to a gasoline-free future. Many of these companies are operating with the same supply chain on a just-in-time inventory system which occasionally breaks down and can’t hang with the production targets set by manufacturers. Mercedes and Audi have already lowered production expectations for the EQC and e-tron respectively.

Jaguar Land Rover desperately needs to find a solution to this problem, as it is among the most pollution-heavy lineups in Europe. When the new European emissions regulations come into place next year, it is on track for a near $100 million fine over its carbon emissions.

To meet these targets, the company will likely need to trim its highest performance models with poor fuel economy numbers. Many Jaguar models only see 18 mpg combined, which is quite poor. In addition to axing these models, Jaguar will need to continue its EV ramp up, which may mean finding another battery supplier, or investing in its own battery supply chain.

In either instance, it doesn’t look like Jaguar Land Rover will weather this storm without it costing the company a lot of money.

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