Jaguar targeting higher use of recycled materials

The news comes following the British brand announcing its new XE luxury sedan will be the first car in the world to use a new aluminium alloy known as RC 5754 that is made predominantly of recycled material.

Mark White, chief technical specialist of lightweight vehicle structures at Jaguar indicated this recycled material helps the XE become the greenest vehicle the brand has ever offered.

“The lowest environmental impact of any Jaguar – that’s quite a claim to make,” said White. “On the material front, recycled aluminium uses less than 10 per cent of the energy it takes to make the primary metal. That’s a substantial reduction in CO2 during the material production phase.

The brand also claims the XE contains “46 kilograms of recycled plastics and renewable materials”.

Nick Miller, chief programme manager for the new XE, told CarAdvice that the recycled elements are mainly under the skin.

“It’s non-body stuff – NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) materials, some plastics,” he said. “You wouldn’t use recycled plastic on an A-surface panel, you just wouldn’t get the control you want.

“But in NVH materials, which is under the skin, it’s not a problem and it’s easy to do.”

White suggested the materials can be found in the luggage floor area, wheel-arch liners and console substrate moulds.

Not only does the use of recycled materials help lower the brand’s CO2 emissions, it also helps keep costs down. The brand says the aluminium-intensive construction of the XE requires less energy (thus fewer emissions) to rivet and bond than traditional spot-welded models.

The expanded use of recycled and less energy-intensive materials is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s bid to reduce its fleet emissions by 25 per cent.