Jaguar announced back in 2021 it was going electric-only by 2025, but since then it’s been mostly radio silence from the British luxury brand.
We’ll finally see the first member of the new electric-only Jag lineup this year, however, according to JLR CEO Adrian Mardell.
Automotive News Europe reports word from the JLR boss that the company will unveil a concept in the US later this year previewing a new electric GT going on sale in 2025.
It’s unclear when exactly it will be revealed, though the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August seems plausible given the brand’s even more upmarket aspirations.
Jaguar’s cryptic GT teaser
The entire Jaguar lineup is being phased out as the brand looks beyond BMW and towards Bentley as part of a relaunch and repositioning.
Production of all petrol and diesel Jaguar models will end in June 2024, with the electric I-Pace set to tide the brand over until 2025 when new products arrive.
The GT will be the first of three models on the Jaguar Electrified Architecture.
It’s been an agonisingly slow drip-feed of information on Jaguar’s future.
Jaguar’s cancelled XJ
Then-JLR CEO Thierry Bollore announced in February 2021 that Jaguar would become an EV-only brand, while also swinging the axe on a new XJ just months before it was set to be revealed… despite the fact it was set to be the first electric XJ.
Mr Bollore, who had only been in the chair for a few months at this point, announced the brand would launch a range of EVs on a shared platform by 2025.
A few days later, the CEO said he was looking for a partner for this platform, noting JLR would go it alone if it couldn’t find a suitable one.
He announced JLR would do just that in February 2022, with the new platform referred to as Panthera.
Dead soon: Jaguar XE
Fast forward another year or so, and JLR – by this point with a new CEO at the helm – released an extremely cryptic teaser image.
The carmaker said it would release more details later in 2023, but said the first of the new models would be a four-door GT with range of up to 700km and prices starting from £100,000 (~$190,000).
Jaguar said first customer deliveries of this vehicle would take place in 2025, and two more vehicles would follow. These are expected to be SUVs.
Other than some remarks about how new Jaguars will be jaw-dropping in appearance, executives have remained mum on the brand’s relaunch.
Dead soon: Jaguar I-Pace
JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern, however, was candid in what Jaguar’s role would be moving forward.
“What we won’t worry about is being loved by everybody, because that’s the kiss of death,” Mr McGovern told investors at a conference in remarks reported by Autocar, warning this is a recipe for “mediocrity”.
“That’s what’s put Jaguar where it is today with, which is with no equity whatsoever.
“This brand was incredibly successful in North America 25 years ago before we took the compromises and the decisions we made.
“A lower-volume, higher-price positioning is absolutely the right position for Jaguar today.
Jaguar XK8 and XJ
“There has been a [25-year] void in between. So it’s reasonable to assume there’s a lot of work to build that brand equity.”
His remarks indicate Jaguar wants to go back to a time well before the XE, XF, E-Pace and F-Pace, and before even the X-Type and S-Type.
Prior to 1999, Jaguar for years sold one sedan line and one grand tourer line, tackling the most expensive models BMW and Mercedes-Benz had to offer and not bothering with lower-price, higher-volume segments.
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