WHITLEY, England - Tesla is giving premium brands a hard time in some key markets, while Volvo is rearing to do the same with its new all-electric Polestar brand. This while the German ‘big three’ are all planning a glut of new battery-powered models in the coming years.
But where does this leave Jaguar?
The Tata-owned British carmaker is at a crossroads at the moment, struggling with the falling demand for traditional saloons and diesel-powered cars, but things are going quite well on the EV front, with the I-Pace selling rather well so far.
It’s already a known fact that the next-generation XJ, which should be revealed later this year, will be an all-electric model too, but now Auto Express is reporting that the brand looks set to electrify its entire line-up as part of a plan that will soon be announced by Jaguar Land Rover’s new boss Thierry Bolloré.
“Some contenders for the CEO role mooted ideas ranging from killing or selling the brand to focus solely on Land Rover, to closing the Castle Bromwich plant and moving production abroad,” the UK publication reported.
“But Auto Express understands that Bolloré will have a bold new plan in front of him that centres around Jaguar becoming a fully electrified brand to compete with the likes of Tesla and Polestar.”
Auto Express also stated that the central pillar of this plan would be a new compact electric model that would take on the strong-selling Tesla Model 3, while also serving as an indirect replacement for the Jaguar XE.
But first out the starting blocks will be the aforementioned XJ, which Jaguar’s new design boss Julian Thomson promises will be a “stunning” vehicle that’s definitely “not a traditional business sedan”, Motor Trend reported earlier this year.
As previously reported, the new XJ will be all-electric and will be able to cover about 480km between charges.
Jaguar is also known to be planning a large electric SUV called the J-Pace.