Jaguar Land Rover and BMW announced on Wednesday that they will form an alliance to build the unique parts, beyond the battery, that make up an electric vehicle.

The effort will focus on electric drive units (EDUs), including motors, transmissions and power electronics, such as motor controllers.

BMW has said it plans to build 25 new plug-in models by 2025, including 12 new all-electric models. Jaguar Land Rover has also said it will offer both all-electric and plug-in hybrid versions of every model it sells by 2025 (along with gas versions.)

BMW Group's vehicle electrification pathway [Dec 2017 presentation]

BMW Group's vehicle electrification pathway [Dec 2017 presentation]

BMW has also teamed up with rival Mercedes-Benz to develop electric car- and ride-sharing programs, and an electric charging infrastructure business, including home charger sales. It's expanding its main factory in Dingolfing, Germany, to produce battery packs for its upcoming models, with cells from a supplier. Currently BMW uses cells from Samsung SDI for its i3 and i8 models.  

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW will share development costs on electric-car components, but will each manufacture them independently for their own cars, the companies said.

“Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market,” said BMW board member Klaus Fröhlich.

"It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies’ requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration,” said Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover engineering director.