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Jaguar Land Rover considering Mexican plant

Jaguar Land Rover has been expanding its production out of the UK and into overseas markets, and according to the latest word from Bloomberg, the British automaker is considering spending more than half a billion dollars to build a new assembly plant somewhere in Mexico. Since the Range Rover Sport and Evoque are two of the company's top sellers in the US, those would reportedly be the most likely to be manufactured at the Mexican plant, although Jaguars could follow as well. The automaker was previously said to be leaning towards a location in the Southern US, and while it could conceivably proceed with plans for both, it would be more likely to go with one or the other. State and local authorities below the Mason-Dixon line have been soliciting the business with various incentives, but lower labor costs South of the Border could prove more attractive to JLR and its parent company Tata. It wouldn't be the first, after all. Over the past month alone, General Motors committed to building the next Chevy Cruze in Mexico, Toyota did the same with the Corolla, Hyundai was reported to be considering a similar step, and Ford announced two new plants in the country amounting to a $2.5-billion investment. Luxury automakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have also been delving into Mexican production as well, blazing a path that JLR could potentially follow. The British automaker recently opened a plant in China and another in Brazil, while investing in additional facilities in the UK as well.

Recharge Wrap-up: Jaguar Land Rover talks EVs, Batteries should be modular

A new study out of Germany suggests adopting a modular approach to battery offerings in plug-in hybrid and extended range electric vehicles. Automakers could offer the same car with different battery sizes (and different costs, accordingly) to drivers depending on their driving ranges. This would optimize the total cost of ownership for various drivers better than the current approach. Developing a modular battery design and offering appropriate batteries for different customers "is the key for electric powertrains to meet customer expectations and become cost competitive against conventional technologies," according to the report from the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, German Aerospace Center. Learn more at Green Car Congress. Jaguar and Land Rover are looking to offer more electric driving from their vehicles. Wolfgang Ziebart, head of product development for Jaguar Land Rover, said in an interview that its hybrid system is being tweaked for more electric power and "downsized" combustion. He also said the likely target market for EVs would be second and third vehicles, rather than primary vehicles for urban driving. Within that market, Europeans look for something smaller, while American drivers lean toward larger luxury vehicles for their second car. Ziebart uses the Tesla Model S as an example of American tastes, and compares its size to that of the Jaguar XJ. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Thailand will likely approve a Volkswagen factory as early as next week. A German newspaper suggests that Thailand's Board of Investment is set to greenlight the plant, which is planned for a site near the Port of Bangkok. Thailand is a relatively large and growing auto manufacturing country, which seeks to be a major producer of eco-friendly vehicles. The country's "Eco2" program would provide incentives to Volkswagen if it builds clean cars and meets certain production targets. Read more at Reuters. Formula E has chosen Sky Deutschland for broadcasting rights in the German market. The deal includes television rights, as well as online broadcasting. Sky Deutschland has 3.8 million subscribers in Germany and Austria. Showing the races on Germany's largest pay television provider should help generate interest for the series, particularly the Berlin ePrix - the inaugural season's penultimate race - scheduled for May 30, 2015. Read more at the Formula E website.

Watch a Cayenne Turbo S, Range Rover SVR, and Cherokee SRT drag race

We live in a weird world where high-performance SUVs could win a 60-mile-per-hour sprint against sports cars from just a few years ago. Here, Top Gear sets up a three-way drag race against the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, and the results show just how quickly these high-riding models can cross the quarter mile. The Cherokee SRT is the patriotic choice among the three, but it's down on power in this fight. Meanwhile, the Range Rover's menacing growl sounds the best, and the Cayenne Turbo S has the most horsepower. You'll have to watch the video to see which SUV will win this battle. Related Video: