More details on Jaguar's electrification as Audi kills off ICE

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Jaguar’s new boss, Theirry Bollore, has revealed some new details on the British carmaker’s plan to go entirely electric from 2025.

Speaking to Autocar UK, Bollore said that, despite Jaguar’s current offerings being the best they’ve ever been, the positives of the brand “aren’t appreciated compared to the competition.”

“Today, when you listen to customers, they see [a Jaguar], like the car and test the car, and they still go and buy an Audi or a BMW. That’s the problem. People buy the originals, then. We aren’t the originals. We have to get the positioning of Jaguar much different, higher and more original.”

The Jaguar I-Pace was the brand’s first EV, and it sure won’t be the last.

Bollore went on to say that he wants Jaguar to emulate the same sort of business model and positioning as Range Rover, meaning building uniquely sized and styled cars at price points that come in higher than its conventional rivals.

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“Look at Range Rover,” he said. “It’s satisfactory on price and profit levels, and we haven’t yet reached the ceiling. The price is extraordinary, and we have the volumes.”

Jaguar also “won’t seek to create targeted rivals” for Porsche, Bentley or even Aston Martin.

Instead, the plan is for Jaguar to create “distinct cars with no overlap”. They will be “really modern luxury cars that are the copy of nothing in style or design, the top of technology and refinement, but not looking backwards”.

It will also no longer pursue the SUV cash cow, at least in great earnest. Autocar UK says that Jaguar will instead focus on uniquely shaped, lower-slung cars with no direct rivals.

The only SUV – and, in fact, the only current-generation Jaguar – to survive into the new wave of models will be the I-Pace, as a “permanently and significantly updated” electric SUV.

As part of its all-electric plans Bollore said that Jaguar is currently looking for an electric platform that is “easy to change in size as necessary” and will support its model plans, but the company is yet to decide whether to create its own or source one from an outside supplier.

Jaguar isn’t the only brand pivoting to electric power. Audi has confirmed it will end the production of combustion engines by 2033.

Every new Audi model introduced from 2026 will be electric-only, with the final combustion model coming in 2025. That will likely be the next-generation Q8 large SUV.

When Volkswagen released its 2019 financial results, it named Audi as its leader of research and development. Focusing on electric power over combustion likely means the other Volkswagen Group brands will also shift.

Until the 2033 point, Audi will continue to refine its existing engine line-up, 'further improving existing generations to achieve greater efficiency with major customer benefits.”

The next electric Audi models due in New Zealand are the e-tron GT sports car and Q4 e-tron/Q4 Sportback e-tron.

Expected to follow are an electric version of the Q5 (possibly based on the electric Porsche Macan and badged Q6) as well as a production version of the A6 e-tron Concept.