The news that Jaguar will only offer electric models from 2025 came as a bit of a surprise, even several years after the debut of the I-Pace. The British marque, closely tied with corporate sibling Land Rover and owned by India's Tata, plans to convert most of its offerings to battery-electric power by the middle of the decade, shedding some longtime best-sellers in the process including the XJ flagship sedan. The automaker dropped plans for the electric luxury yacht at the eleventh hour, just months ahead of the next-gen XJ's production debut and ahead of sales in 2022, even as it readies a lineup composed entirely of electric cars.
This means today's crop of Jaguars is effectively the last Jaguar lineup designed with internal combustion engines, and that no new gas or diesel-engined models will hit the market between now and 2025. That's a big step for an automaker that not long ago pegged its hopes on a range of very traditional sedans, and looked skeptically upon SUVs.
The model range that Jaguar will offer is expected to be a bit smaller than today's lineup. In addition to being without a flagship sedan, the XE and XF models will probably merge into a single electric sedan offering. The I-Pace and the E-Pace are also likely to merge into a single, compact electric SUV, while the F-Pace is expected to play the role of a larger electric SUV. The F-Type coupe and cabriolet, in production since 2013, are expected to be reborn as EVs, and could have their segments to themselves for a period of time as other automaker concentrate on other segments.
But Jaguar's rapid transformation into an electric-car maker raises other questions: Will Jaguar buyers follow, or does the automaker seek to attract an entirely new audience, one used to EVs?
One encouraging sign that at least some repeat Jaguar buyers might follow is recent data from AutoPacific, revealing that 32% of new Jaguar owners would be willing to go electric, and an even higher percentage of Land Rover owners would do the same.
But where does that leave the other 68% of Jaguar owners who would prefer a gas-engined Jaguar? Will they go to other luxury brands still offering internal combustion engines?
Likewise, given today's rates of EV adoption in the U.S., which vary quite a bit by region but don't really top 6%, does Jaguar expect to retain its annual sales volume once the switchover to EVs happens? Beyond western Europe, China and the U.S., there are many other countries where Jaguar has an official presence, but where EVs aren't even up to 1% of all vehicle sales, and where that's unlikely to change by 2025.
Beyond sales volumes and EV-adoption rates there are slightly more abstract considerations, like brand identity. Will repeat F-Type buyers and marque enthusiasts see the light when it comes to switching to electric power, or will they still associate a sporty Jaguar driving experience with throaty gas engines?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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