Experts question all-EV move
Plans by Jaguar to reposition itself as an electric luxury brand when competitors are rolling back EV ambitions is attracting some scepticism from industry experts and dealers.
Since the company initiated its strategic reboot, the landscape has shifted with political uncertainty in US, China collapsing as a major market for Western luxury brands and a renewed industry focus on internal combustion engines (ICEs).
Despite this, Jaguar is moving forward with a strategy centred exclusively on full-electric EVs giving the Tata Motors-owned brand a unique market position. But it could also become a liability.
Dealers and analysts have doubts about the strategy. Experts see no clear example of electric luxury cars succeeding at scale. And Jaguar’s strategy is seen as risky because it relies on a pure BEV platform that isn’t shared with parent JLR’s other brands, such as Range Rover and Land Rover.
“I don’t see a single luxury manufacturer where electric models have truly succeeded,” says Martin Benecke, an analyst at S&P Global. Most electric luxury projects announced in recent years have failed or been delayed significantly.
Jaguar delayed launching the first of its new high-performance BEVs by several months to August to allow time for more testing and for EV demand to pick up, The Guardian newspaper reported last year.
Dealers say orders for the model, which will be a four-door GT previewed by the Type 00 concept unveiled in 2024 and pictured above, are expected to open in March or April. Pricing will start at US$130,000. It’s being built on the new Jaguar Electric Architecture platform, which cannot be easily adapted for hybrids or ICEs.
A campaign by Jaguar to promote the rebranding last November attracted criticism because it featured androgynous models and dropped the brand’s iconic big cat logo. Many long-standing customers voiced their dissatisfaction directly to dealers. Then six months of limited communication from the company further increased uncertainty.
Jaguar is targeting annual sales of about 10,000 units globally according to dealer sources, reports Automotive News. That’s roughly on the scale of Bentley.
