National Automotive Innovation Centre, Coventry 19th February
2020: Jaguar Land Rover has today unveiled the bold
new concept vehicle, Project Vector, as part of the company’s Destination Zero journey, offering its vision of an autonomous, electric,
connected future for urban mobility.
Jaguar
Land Rover’s Destination Zero mission is an ambition to make societies safer
and healthier, and the environment cleaner. Delivered through relentless
innovation, the company’s focus is on achieving a future of zero emissions,
zero accidents and zero congestion – through its products, services and across
its facilities.
As the next stage of that journey, the Project Vector concept showcases an
advanced, flexible, multi-use electric vehicle that is ‘autonomy-ready’.
At the
reveal, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer, Prof Sir Ralf Speth,
commented: “Jaguar Land Rover understands
the trends shaping modern societies. Project Vectorshows Jaguar Land Rover
as a leader in innovation to make our societies safer and healthier, and the
environment cleaner. Through this project, we are collaborating
with the brightest minds in academia, supply chain and digital services, to
create connected, integrated mobility systems – the fundamental building blocks
for Destination Zero.”
“Project Vector is precisely the brave and innovative leap forward
needed to deliver on our mission.”
The compact, flexible vehicle concept measuresjust
four metres in length and is designed for the city, packaging all its
battery and drivetrain components into a flat floor, to allow a variety of
uses.The revolutionary interior cabin space allows seating configurations for
private, or shared use and even the opportunity for commercial applications, such
as last mile deliveries.
PROJECT VECTOR – Developing Tomorrow’s Mobility. Today.
Project
Vector concept has been created with the mission to raise the quality of future
urban living.
It has
been developed at the National Automotive Innovation Centre to gain the
advantages of working with agility and close collaboration with academic and
external partners.
It will
also address the wider landscape of mobility, from how customers connect with
mobility services, to the infrastructure required to enable fully integrated,
autonomous vehicles in our cities.
Dr. Tim
Leverton, Project Director said: “The
megatrends of urbanisation and digitalisation make connected urban mobility
systems necessary and inevitable. Shared and private vehicles will share spaces
with and be connected to public transit networks, so you can travel on demand
and autonomously. That is a complex task, best achieved by working together
with partners across the spectrum of vehicles, infrastructure and the digital
world.
“With the technology and engineering power of Jaguar Land Rover, we can
provide a unique opportunity for innovators to develop highly-functional urban
mobility services, seamlessly integrated into everyday life.
“Future urban travel will be a composite of owned and shared vehicles,
access to ride hailing and on-demand services as well as public transport. Our
vision shows the vehicle as a flexible part of the urban mobility network that
can be adapted for different purposes.”
The
intention is to collaborate with Coventry City Council and the West Midlands
Combined Authority to plan a mobility service from late 2021, as a living
laboratory for future mobility on the streets of Coventry.
Professor Dr GeroKempf, Chief Engineer said: “It’s also a unique opportunity – a concept platform designed and engineered around urban centric use cases by a major car maker as a blank canvas, for developing tailored services and apps in the ecosystem of a smart city.”