Jaguar Kills Gas-Powered Cars – Plans to Go All-Electric by 2025
Let’s face it. The electrification of the auto industry is well underway. The conversation surrounding electric cars shifted from “if” to “when” rather quickly. Jaguar is the latest carmaker to embrace this change in a new surprise announcement.
According to Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré, Jaguar will become an all-electric brand by 2025. Additionally, Land Rover will also debut plenty of electric vehicles as part of this plan. This is how the company plans to achieve this massive shift.
How does Jaguar plan to go all-electric?
Jaguar’s newest strategy appears to have two major goals in mind, profitability and sustainability. On the profitability front, the recipe is rather simple. In 2020, the carmaker managed to sell just 31,051 vehicles in the U.S. In contrast, Businesswire reports that rival luxury brand BMW managed to sell 98,750 during the same period.
As you might imagine, spicing up sales significantly requires quite the revamp. To this end, Jaguar plans to utilize a “pure electric architecture” to develop its new models. Few parts from the current models will likely carry over into these new electric cars. However, by 2025, the carmaker plans to be an all-electric luxury brand.
The second goal of this shift is sustainability. According to Jaguar, the plan is to become a net-zero carbon business by 2039. Keep in mind this also includes Land Rover. Thankfully, however, the off-roading luxury brand plans to add EVs alongside its internal combustion models instead of canceling them.
It will be challenging to do by 2025
As you might imagine, such a massive shift for Jaguar won’t be easy to achieve. For starters, this means making some sacrifices in the lineup. As a result, the carmaker has canceled the next generation of its flagship sedan, the XJ.
Additionally, the shift toward electrification doesn’t just encompass traditional EVs. In fact, the company stated that it is investing heavily in hydrogen technology as it believes this will become important soon.
Another major component of Jaguar’s plan is the expansion of the PIVOTAL subscription service. According to the carmaker, the service has grown 750 percent during the fiscal year. As a result, the brand might count on customers subscribing rather than outright purchasing vehicles.
While these efforts indicate that the brand’s future is quite bright, making such massive changes in such a short amount of time won’t be easy. Let’s see what the brand’s current EV lineup looks like.
Does Jaguar currently produce EVs?
In the U.S., Jaguar sells just one EV, the I-Pace. With a $69,850 base price, the I-Pace is far from the cheapest new electric crossover available. Powering this crossover are two electric motors, each developing 197 hp and 256 lb-ft for a combined 394 hp and 512 lb-ft output. This allows the crossover to reach 60 mph in around 4.5 seconds. In terms of real-world practicality, the I-Pace offers 234 miles of electric range.
If this is the first time you’re heading of the I-Pace, you’re not alone. As far as EVs go in the U.S., this is far from the most popular. According to CarSalesBase, the carmaker sold just 1,546 units of the I-Pace in 2020. In contrast, Audi managed to sell 5,919 similarly-priced e-tron SUVs during the same period.
However, as we move toward 2025, we’ll see how Jaguar’s new architecture, models, and strategy play in as the entire industry leans heavily on electrification.