Electric Jaguar XJ, hybrid airplanes, more driving, fewer Chinese EV makers: Today’s Car News

Americans driving more miles could cancel out emissions progress. Airbus looks to build hybrid airplanes. China puts restrictions on who can build electric cars in the world's largest EV market. And Jaguar plans to launch its new flagship XJ sedan as an electric. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Jaguar Land Rover plans to introduce its next-generation Jaguar XJ flagship sedan first as an all-electric model, with gas engines following later. The company also plans a new electric Range Rover along with plug-in hybrids.

As the EPA proposes to roll back increases in emissions standards, new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that Americans are also driving more miles every year, limiting the effectiveness of any fuel-economy increases.

European aircraft-maker Airbus is developing a new hybrid version of one of its most popular airplanes, which could have a single jet engine and a couple of electric motors for takeoff boost.

China, the world's largest EV market, has too many electric carmakers, according to the government. New restrictions designed to weed out marginal electric carmakers will require companies that build electric cars in China to achieve critical mass and have significant financial assets.

Another electric-car startup isn't aiming directly at Tesla, though it could take away some of the company's Silicon Valley spotlight. Drako Motors is developing a 1,200-horsepower, 206-mph supercar called the Drako GTE.

Finally, in first drive of the new light-duty Chevy Silverado diesel pickup our partners at The Car Connection averaged 34 mpg, which is pretty impressive for a full-sized pickup meant for towing.

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Electric Jaguar XJ flagship to compete with Tesla Model S

Jaguar Land Rover plans to launch its new flagship with a jolt. At a recent investor day, the company said its new flagship XJ sedan will launch first as an electric model, likely in 2020. Models with gas engines are expected to follow.

The automaker previously announced it will offer electric and plug-in hybrid versions of every model it sells by 2025. The new XJ is expected to be the first of those models based on a new modular architecture designed to accept both electric and gas platforms.

The electric XJ will likely have a 90.2 kilowatt-hour battery with a targeted range of 292 miles, according to Nick Miles, JLR's head of product engineering, as presented at the investor day. That range is likely on the somewhat optimistic new European WLTP driving cycle.

The new “Modular Longitudinal Architecture” is unrelated to the platform underpinning Jaguar's electric I-Pace, which is built at a Magna-Steyr contract manufacturing facility in Austria. The XJ and vehicles on its modular MLA platform will be built at Jaguar's home factory in Solihull, England.

2020 Land Rover Range Rover

The new platform will also underpin two new SUVs from Range Rover, a new flagship Range Rover in 2021 and a new Range Rover Sport a year later, according to a report in Automotive News Europe (subscription required.) Both Range Rovers will be offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains, and at least one of Range Rover's four models will include a fully electric option.

Both the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport currently include plug-in hybrid options, but they're based on an older platform, one not shared with Jaguar. The new plug-in hybrid models are expected to achieve a slightly longer electric range.

The MLA platform is expected to replace five platforms the company currently uses, but may not be the company's only electric architecture. Outgoing design head Ian Callum told Automotive News that the I-Pace platform is also likely to continue to underpin new, updated electric models.

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