Land Rover has announced an investment of £700 million over the next five years to make its cars greener. In a market place wrought with environmental concern amidst soaring oil prices and CO2 emissions, Land Rover acknowledges it has to do more. Starting with the Freelander diesel models later this year and gradually rolling out across the rest of the range, Land Rover will introduce a stop-start system. According to Product Development Director, Phil Hodgkinson, "Stop start will be introduced on the Freelander diesel later this year, and that alone will reduce the CO2 emissions from 194g/km to 179g/km." Furthermore, Land Rover will follow up with diesel-electric hybrid powertrains and electric rear axle drive (ERAD) system, dubbed e-terrain technology. Such technology will allow the vehicle to move off without starting the engine as well as supplying extra power over tough terrain. But this is just the beginning. Hodgkinson added, "As well as new powertrain and transmission technologies we will also be looking to reduce the weight and size of our vehicles and you will also see a steep change in terms of aerodynamics.” Despite this move towards smaller and aerodynamic friendly design, Hodgkinson said the company had still not made a decision whether the LRX concept unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show at the start of the year will go into production.
