Jaguar Land Rover unveils new tech startup InMotion

Carmakers are turning their attention from simply making automobiles to focusing on innovation. The latest entrant in the series is carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, which unveiled InMotion on Monday, a separate “innovation” company charged with building mobility apps and services that play to the strengths of its parent company’s premium car brand.

The startup will focus on developing apps and on-demand services that will look to solve what JLR describes as "modern travel and transport challenges." According to Adrian Hallmark, Group Strategy Director for Jaguar Land Rover, a new car is typically 3-4 years in the making and with a lifespan that sees it stay around for nearly a decade. In contrast, the digital world enables products to come to market in a matter of months not years, and it’s within this context that InMotion is being given the freedom and financial support to try new ideas and see what works.

The new Jaguar Land Rover “spin out”, says Hallmark, is a three in one product- a company builder, an incubator, and an investor. Where there’s a good strategic fit with Jaguar Land Rover’s existing customer base and brand, products, and services developed by InMotion will likely remain in-house and continue to be solely supported by its parent company.

However, where an idea still has legs but isn’t such a good fit with Jaguar Land Rover, there remains the possibility to spin it out independently, including taking external investment. In effect, that makes InMotion a business that aims to build new businesses.

The new company will be based in London and will look to identify new ideas and services while at the same time helping entrepreneurs and developers take ideas from a concept through beta testing and beyond.