Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed plans to establish three new engineering hubs in Europe, located in Germany, Italy, and Spain. The hubs will create approximately 100 engineering jobs to develop next-generation autonomous technologies, such as driver assistance systems and artificial intelligence (AI), for JLR’s luxury vehicles. The move is part of JLR’s “multi-year strategic partnership” with Nvidia, a Silicon Valley-based AI company, which the automotive giant announced in 2020.
JLR’s engineering hubs will work towards developing computer brains and nervous systems for Jaguars and Land Rovers that incorporate self-driving systems. The hubs in Munich, Bologna, and Madrid were chosen due to their access to top talent. Munich is considered one of Europe’s top-ranking technology hubs, while the sites in Spain and Italy have also been identified as significant and growing tech hub locations in Europe.
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According to Thomas Müller, product engineering director at Jaguar Land Rover, the company is “harnessing talent in autonomous technologies around the world to develop new autonomous technologies for our future products, which will deliver a truly modern luxury experience for our clients.” He added that software is essential for JLR to deliver a fully connected experience for its clients, and the creation of global engineering hubs will enable seamless hybrid working across several locations while ensuring the business harnesses the best talent.
JLR already operates six technology hubs worldwide, in the United States, Hungary, Ireland, the UK, China, and India, employing over 1,100 engineers. In 2021, the company announced plans to stop building cars with internal combustion engines by 2025, which will transform its operations in the UK. Additionally, from 2025, all new JLR vehicles will be built on Nvidia’s Drive automotive software platform, which offers a range of active safety, automated driving and parking systems, and driver assistance systems.
