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Jaguar Land Rover cutting production in face of falling demand

LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover will reduce or stop production on certain days at two of its British factories over the next few weeks as Britain's biggest carmaker pursues cost-cutting measures in response to falling demand. JLR posted a 2.3% drop in retail sales in the three months to the end of December and has targeted billions of pounds worth of savings to tackle falling diesel demand in Europe and a tough sales environment in China. The firm will halt production on selected days over a four-week period from late February at its Castle Bromwich factory in central England and stop production on some half or full days at its nearby Solihull facility until the end of March. "The external environment remains challenging for our industry and the company is taking decisive actions to achieve the necessary operational efficiencies to safeguard long-term success," the company said in a statement. "We have confirmed that Solihull and Castle Bromwich will make some minor changes to their production schedules to reflect fluctuating demand globally, whilst still meeting customer needs." The move is not connected to coronavirus, a spokeswoman said, which prompted Fiat Chrysler to warn on Thursday that a European plant could shut down within two to four weeks if Chinese parts suppliers cannot get back to work. Related Video:

Jaguar Land Rover to cut $6.8 billion in costs

Jaguar Land Rover reduce costs by $6.8 billion and will push annual production volume to 1 million vehicles under a secret project called Leap 4.5, according to Reuters. The British automaker wants to achieve these ambitious goals by the end of the decade to compensate for the changing market in China and to counteract the price of meeting stricter emissions standards around the world. Leap 4.5 won't mean firing workers or cutting the automaker's $4.5 billion annual research budget. JLR will instead find savings by underpinning more models with modular platforms and by adjusting its supply chain. Future factories like the one in Brazil and the proposed plant in Slovakia also won't be affected by the new strategy. Globally, JLR continues to grow, and deliveries are up two percent through October 2015 to 390,965 vehicles. Business just last month was up 24 percent year-over-year to 41,553 units. However, the auto market's downturn in China has taken a bite out the automaker's success because volume dropped there 32 percent in the third quarter, Reuters reported. A global volume of 1 million vehicles will mean more than doubling 2014's 462,678 deliveries, but JLR has made significant investments to boost production recently. In addition to the future factories, it opened its first plant in China last year and an engine assembly site in the UK. The company also signed a deal with Magna Steyr in 2015 to build an upcoming model in Austria. Related Video:

Jaguar and Land Rover now offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace will come standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, and the connectivity feature comes as a roughly $300 option on select and appropriately equipped 2019 Jaguar and Land Rover models, the joint automaker said. It comes via Jaguar Land Rover's Smartphone Pack, which is available on all 2019 and future models, but with conditions. The car in question must have the 10-inch InControl Touch Pro touchscreen or split-touchscreen Touch Pro Duo infotainment systems, plus navigation, InControl Apps and Wi-Fi connectivity. Those are included on some upper trim levels and available as separate options on others. So basically, depending on trim level, you could be looking at a simple $300 add or a long-line of other extra charges just to get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are other new features coming for the InControl Touch Pro system as well, including voice command for navigation, major graphic refreshes for certain screens, new shortcut buttons on the home screen for key navigation, media and phone functions, and changes to the user experience in the media screen. Jaguar and Land Rover first introduced the InControl Touch Pro for 2016, enabling users to learn whether they have enough fuel or battery range to get to a searched-for destination and share their destination, current location and ETA with others via email or text message when using the on-board nav system. The Touch Pro Duo first debuted on the 2018 Range Rover Velar and will be standard on the 2019 I-Pace electric crossover, plus the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. It features interlinked dual upper and lower touchscreens. In terms of the trim level availability mentioned earlier, a JLR spokesperson tells us that Smartphone Pack is available on all 2019 Jaguar F-Pace trim levels. It is available separately starting with the F-Pace Prestige trim level, but on the base F-Pace and Premium versions, you have to also get the optional Connect Pro Pack, Navigation Pro Pack, and traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed-limiter pack. Yes, it is a bit complicated. JLR recently released a touchscreen infotainment system designed to blend in with vintage models that retails for $1,796 before taxes. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.