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Autocar reports:
Jaguar Land Rover bosses are considering a plan to turn Jaguar into an EV-only brand within the next decade, Autocar has learned.
It is understood that company product planners have produced an outline strategy under which Jaguar's conventional vehicle range would be phased out over the next five to seven years, to be replaced by pure-electric vehicles.
Jaguar Land Rover bosses are considering a plan to turn Jaguar into an EV-only brand within the next decade, Autocar has learned.
It is understood that company product planners have produced an outline strategy under which Jaguar's conventional vehicle range would be phased out over the next five to seven years, to be replaced by fully electric vehicles.
Under the plans being considered, a full-on luxury electric saloon, replacing the unloved XJ, is expected within two years. It will be a direct competitor for Porsche's upcoming Taycan, alongside strong-selling cars such as the Tesla Model S.
Rethought as an electric vehicle, the new XJ will both play to the strengths of the 1967 original by offering segment-leading refinement and ride and look to the future by completely reinventing the classic Jaguar interior.
It is understood that the new XJ will be a no-holds-barred luxury car in every sense, offering customers a zero-pollution alternative to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or even a Bentley Flying Spur.
(Score: 3, Informative) by deimtee on Thursday October 18 2018, @03:52PM (2 children)
Cost of lithium extraction from seawater is about double the current cost of mining, and is effectively unlimited. That sets a pretty hard upper limit on the cost.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday October 19 2018, @02:06AM (1 child)
i see online that extraction from lithium brine is half the cost of mining, but is brine != seawater (for which I can't find a price)?
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday October 19 2018, @04:15AM
Yeah, they are different. Lithium brine is where most of it comes from now, it is a subsurface deposit that is already concentrated by natural processes. Basically a liquid ore body, and is cheaper to extract than old fashioned mines. Sea-water lithium is not as concentrated, and costs more to extract and process. The figures I saw said twice the cost of mining, so I guess four times the cost of salar brines.
Here's a quick overview https://www.thebalance.com/lithium-production-2340123 [thebalance.com]
As long as the salar lithium brines are available, nobody is going to bother with sea-water, and they will probably go back to hard mining first as well. Sea-water lithium isn't cheap compared to current production, it is just so vast it sets a upper limit on the retail price.
Personally, I think lithium extraction as a side-product of desalination should become more popular too. Can't find it now, but there was an article claiming that a solar-powered multi-purpose desalination, lithium/sodium/other metals recovery plant could be cost effective if it was in an area where they could use clean water. Think of a desert next to an ocean where you also set up farming and sell fresh vegies. Hard to get funding for, because no single part could pay for it, and investors don't like complicated plans that need to span multiple markets.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.