According to media reports, on February 11, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced in a statement that it plans to invest $180 million in its North American technology center over the next decade to develop autonomous driving and connectivity technologies.
Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson David Wrottesley revealed in an email that this investment will be evenly distributed over the next ten years, specifically covering operational costs and engineering research and development at the company's technology center in Portland, Oregon.
Wrottesley stated that this investment is part of Jaguar Land Rover's "Reimagine" strategy, which aims for the company to achieve carbon neutrality by 2039. The investment in the Portland technology center is also part of Jaguar Land Rover's larger $22.4 billion commitment to electrification.
The Portland technology center is one of Jaguar Land Rover's nine global facilities of its kind. Wrottesley mentioned that the company is also investing in other technology centers, though the specific investment amounts for each have yet to be determined.
In its statement, Jaguar Land Rover emphasized that as vehicles become increasingly software-driven, customer demand for various applications, services, and features continues to grow. The company's engineers are working on cutting-edge vehicle connectivity and autonomous driving technologies.
With this new investment, Jaguar Land Rover aims to enhance in-car entertainment, enable over-the-air (OTA) updates for driving functions and services, and introduce the latest autonomous driving technologies in future models. The company plans to implement features such as augmented reality (AR) in parking scenarios and head-up display systems, as well as deploy vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems to facilitate communication between vehicles.
Blake Lyman, Senior Director of Software and Site Operations at Jaguar Land Rover Portland, stated in the announcement: "Over the next decade, we will invest approximately $180 million to develop technologies that deliver the ultimate connected luxury experience for our customers."
Jaguar Land Rover established the Portland technology center in 2014, choosing the location due to its proximity to California and Seattle, as well as its closeness to tech giants like Amazon, NVIDIA, Apple, and Google. The facility expanded in 2016 and 2017 and underwent further expansion in 2024.
So far, engineers at the Portland technology center have played a key role in various developments, including the in-car electrical system "EVA2," used in millions of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles like the Range Rover and Defender, as well as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), parking cameras, and other driving aids. They have also integrated Amazon Alexa into Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.
